Bihus.Info: Who “forgot” to declare an apartment in a luxury residential complex, a parking space, and both wives’ cars

Investigators also suspect that another asset — the "Kaniv Left-Bank Hunting Farm" — he registered in the names of nominal owners.

The family of Vitaliy Kim, the former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration who recently took the post of Minister for Veterans Affairs, may be using a number of undeclared expensive assets, according to a new investigation by the Bihus.Info project. For example, in the summer of 2025 the company "Media Group" owned by his wife Yuliya bought a large apartment in the elite Kyiv residential complex "Novopecherski Lypky" with an area of over 100 sq. m and one parking space there. According to journalists, even without renovations the apartment alone could be worth 350 thousand dollars, while YouControl data indicate that Yuliya’s company had either no public financial statements for the year or reported zero.

Kim and members of his family may have been using that apartment, the investigation says. Supporting this thesis is the fact that at the end of the summer a Volkswagen Touareg with cover license plates—plates Kim usually uses—was first spotted in the complex parking lot, and a few days later a man resembling the head of the Ministry of Veterans Affairs was seen leaving the complex in that same car from the passenger seat.

Another car also stops in that same parking space — a Porsche Macan registered to wife Yuliya (she was fined in 2024). That car is also not in the politician’s declaration, but it is recorded under the construction company "S-Develop," which belongs to Roman Serbenov. According to journalists, he left construction of residential complexes in Mykolaiv and Zaporizhzhia regions and moved to Poland.

Kim himself said he does not use the parking space or the apartment in Novopecherski Lypky. The latter, he said, "Media Group" took out on credit. He stated that "financial reports exist for Yuliya as a sole proprietor, and the money was also in the declaration." As for the car, his wife rented it for less than 180 days for "periodic use," so it did not appear in the declaration when Kim resigned from the regional administration. Its owner — Serbenov — said his company bought the Porsche back in 2022 and rented it to Yuliya.

As for Kim’s own declaration, his cash increased significantly — by about 6,5 million hryvnias compared with 2024. According to journalists, the family’s annual income in 2025 was 7 million hryvnias before taxes.

"This means they managed to set aside almost the entire family’s annual income," the investigation says. "No housing purchase expenses appear in the declaration."

180 recently Kim explained the appearance of his VW Touareg and himself near the complex; the car once belonged to his first wife Olha. Earlier he rented it from one of Mykolaiv’s firms, and then the car became his ex-wife’s property. Over the past few months he received fines and was often seen near Lypky. The minister said Olha is currently abroad and does not use the Touareg.

Another asset of the Kim family is the "Kaniv Left-Bank Hunting Farm" in the Cherkasy region, which has at its disposal 18 000 hectares of hunting grounds. Journalists believe that the new owners who appeared in 2025 are nominal. These are longtime business partner of the minister Oleksandr Stepanov, who repeatedly collaborated on joint projects with both of Kim’s wives, and Andriy Halkin. Regarding the latter, journalists noted that a person with the same full name once served as an assistant to a former Servant of the People member and now member of the Restoration of Ukraine group, Roman Ivaniisov. Kim recounted meeting the latter while hunting in 2020.

He also said he had visited the farm’s territory several times "at the invitation of friends." Meanwhile Stepanov said Kim might not tell him about his visits, as he could be accompanied by people he "would not want to publicize." Media speculate that among them could have been SN leader Davyd Arakhamiya.

Recall that the decision to appoint Kim minister for veterans affairs encountered criticism from military and activist communities, who reproach the official for lacking experience in the relevant field. Bohdana Levytska, founder of the Volunteer Association Vesta charitable foundation, reminded that he publicly questioned veterans’ ability to work in public administration and politics and promoted stereotypes that they are "PTSD sufferers," incapable, dangerous, and conflict-prone. Civil society representatives believe that a veteran should occupy the ministerial seat.