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Ring worth 700 thousand euros, Rolex worth 300 thousand, and academic plagiarism: assets and career of KNUKiM Vice-Rector Kostyria
The career of the vice-rector of the Kyiv National University of Culture and Arts (KNUKiM), Inna Kostyria, looks impeccable on paper: a doctoral degree, leadership positions in several institutions, and parliamentary ambitions. However, the details of this biography that journalists were able to establish resemble a case study in academic misconduct more than a success story.
This was reported by "Stopkor."
A dissertation of 360 pages — and half of it someone else’s?
In 2017, journalist Tetiana Parkhomenko analyzed Inna Kostyria’s doctoral dissertation in detail and found striking figures: of the 360 pages in the main body of the work, 190 were borrowed without proper citations, and nearly 90 pages of that portion matched other sources verbatim. This was reported in a piece on "Ukrainska Pravda. Zhittia."
The problem was not isolated: a third of Kostyria’s candidate (PhD) dissertation also contained borrowed text. Both works were defended under the supervision of the same academic advisor — Viktor Andrushchenko — which raises questions not only about the candidate herself but also about the quality of academic supervision.
The most telling moment in this story is the outcome. In 2016, already after it was technically possible to check texts for plagiarism, the Attestation Board of the Ministry of Education and Science approved Kostyria’s doctoral degree in political sciences.
The editorial office sent an official inquiry to the Ministry and received a response stating that after legislative changes the ministry lost the right to review decisions on awarding academic degrees. The Ministry also said that it had not conducted a fact-check of Tetiana Parkhomenko’s publication, and it had not received appeals regarding textual borrowings in Kostyria’s doctoral dissertation. The decision of the specialized academic council of the National Pedagogical Dragomanov University to award her the degree of Doctor of Political Sciences in the specialty 23.00.03 "Political Culture and Ideology," approved by the Ministry’s order dated 29 September 2016, No. 1166, remains in force.
Thus, according to the ministry’s logic, checking for plagiarism is the responsibility of "the collegiate body of the educational institution itself" — in other words, simplistically, the same university where Kostyria holds leadership positions.
"Poplavskyi’s right hand" at the Palace "Ukraine"
In 2014, Kostyria unexpectedly became head of the National Palace of Arts "Ukraine" as general director. Media at the time wrote directly that the appointment was actively lobbied by Mykhailo Poplavskyi, and Kostyria was called his "right hand."
She did not stay long in the post: by July of that year she was dismissed, and the enterprise’s financial and economic activities were subject to inspection. Kostyria twice tried to challenge her removal in court — in administrative and civil proceedings. In the administrative case she was denied because the court ruled the dispute to be an employment (labor) issue rather than a public-service matter; in the civil case proceedings were opened and a hearing was scheduled.
According to media reports, Poplavskyi was not the only person influencing the Palace’s operations: Kostyria’s husband, Borys Novozhyilov, was named the de facto curator of the institution.
Free concert and an "electioneering" campaign stunt
In 2019, Kostyria ran for the Verkhovna Rada as an independent candidate. In Fastiv, a free concert was organized in support of her campaign featuring Oleh Vynnyk and Mykhailo Poplavskyi. Hromadske at the time called the event electioneering: Agrarian Party symbols and balloons were present, political statements were made from the stage, and performers posed for photos with the candidate.
Assets: an apartment in Pechersk, land, and a bank debt
Kostyria’s family wealth also raises questions. In Kyiv, in Pechersk, she owns an apartment of 122 square meters, purchased in 2012 at an estimated cost of 300 thousand dollars, as well as a parking space in the same building.
In Kirovohrad region she owns four land plots totaling over 8 hectares.
Kostyria’s daughter, Uliana, regularly shows travels around Europe and branded items on social media — including a Gucci blazer valued at over 3 thousand dollars. Officially she has no registered property, but she is a founder of a charity golf tournament, a Ukrainian golf champion, and often vacations in Switzerland, France, and Spain.
According to YouControl, Kostyria is also registered as the owner of a BMW 520D, model year 2024.
Kostyria’s husband, Borys Novozhyilov, owns a house of 361 square meters in Hostomel, an apartment in Kyiv, and a garage box — most of this property was also acquired by gift agreements.
Meanwhile, in 2023, "Universal Bank" filed a lawsuit against Kostyria seeking to recover a debt of over 11,5 thousand dollars.
Ring worth 700 thousand euros and a watch worth 300 thousand
An analysis of 26 public photos of Kostyria from social networks, in which journalists tried to identify brands and estimate approximate values, yields a telling statistic. The same Graff ring repeatedly appears in the photos; by visual similarity its estimated value is 700 thousand euros — it is visible in at least nine of the twenty-six shots.
A Rolex watch estimated at 300 thousand euros appears three times in the photos. Other items include a boat (approximately €800 thousand), a Bentley (approximately €240 thousand), a fur coat estimated at €30 thousand, Cartier earrings ranging from €100 to €250 thousand depending on the shot, a Dior jacket for 5 thousand dollars, a silver bag from the same brand for nearly 4 thousand dollars, and a Hermès scarf.
Even the most modest outfit in the analyzed selection — a blouse and skirt valued at a few thousand euros — exceeds the monthly salary of many Ukrainian academics. Judging by social media, such a level of spending appears routine for the vice-rector.
What KNUKiM answered
The editorial office sought an official comment directly from KNUKiM. On the institution’s premises journalists were met by a university representative who assured them there was nothing to hide and that he was ready to answer all questions.
According to him, at the time of the conversation Kostyria was no longer officially employed at the university: "Ms. Inna is currently not working at the university. Her appointment order, which was issued on 19 August, expired, and she did not continue her legal relationship with the university."
When asked whether Kostyria had been physically present in Ukraine while formally holding the position, the representative gave an evasive answer: "It’s hard to say where she was — whether in Ukraine or outside Ukraine... If she performs this work, it doesn’t mean she has to be at the university... She could have been consulting online."
In plain terms: the position existed, the order was issued, salary was apparently paid, but the university cannot officially clarify where the department head was physically located.
In addition to the verbal exchange, the editorial office sent an official written request for public information to KNUKiM. On 11 September 2026 the university replied — but not substantively. The reply stated that "due to the need to collect and process the requested information, consideration of this request requires an extension of the processing time in the manner provided by part 4 of Article 20 of the Law of Ukraine 'On Access to Public Information.'"
Formally the university acted within the law: extending the deadline for processing a request is permitted when a large volume of information must be processed. However, it is worth reminding that the university representative had assured during the in-person conversation that there was nothing to hide and that all documents would be provided promptly. In practice, "promptly" turned into the maximum legally permitted waiting period. The editorial office awaits a substantive response and will publish it as soon as it is received.
What this means legally
Summing up the established facts: possible plagiarism in an academic work, which the ministry, by its own rules, did not and does not have the authority to investigate. Social media showing assets that, by rough estimates, amount to hundreds of millions of hryvnias when converted to the value of the items. Official responses that explain everything except the substance of the questions asked. And the vice-rector position, which despite all the listed circumstances remained unchanged for years.
According to our sources, since the start of the full-scale invasion Inna Kostyria was outside Ukraine for a total of 3 years and 9 months, while continuing to be in an employment relationship with KNUKiM.
If the facts of unjustified salary payments for time of actual absence from the workplace are confirmed, the actions of the university officials and the lecturer herself could potentially fall under the qualification of part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (misappropriation, embezzlement of property or seizure of it by abusing official position in especially large amounts).
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Каблучка за 700 тисяч євро, Rolex за 300 тисяч та академічний плагіат: статки та кар’єра проректорки КНУКіМ Костирі". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: ANTIKOR.
