Wife of Kim Found to Own an Apartment Worth $350 Thousand: Why It’s Not in the Minister’s Declaration

The company of the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Vitalii Kim’s wife purchased an apartment in Kyiv’s residential complex “Novopecherski Lypky,” which journalists estimate is worth at least 350 thousand dollars without renovations. The property is not listed in the official declaration of the official, and investigators suggest he may have used it. Kim himself denies this.

This was reported by Bihus.Info.

In the summer of 2025, the company “Media Group,” which belongs to the minister’s wife Yuliia, bought an apartment of more than 100 square meters and a parking space in the “Novopecherski Lypky” complex in Kyiv. According to the journalists’ estimate, the apartment alone without renovations could cost around 350 thousand dollars.

Investigators focused on the financial indicators of the purchasing company. According to YouControl data they cited, during the year Media Group’s public financial statements were either absent or showed zero figures. At the same time, these data by themselves do not establish from which funds the company purchased the property.

Journalists decided to check whether Kim’s family uses the apartment. At the end of summer they noticed a Volkswagen Touareg near the residential complex with license plates that, according to their information, are used by the official. A few days later investigators recorded a man resembling Kim leaving the complex in the passenger seat of that vehicle.

The minister denied using the apartment or the parking space in Novopecherski Lypky. According to him, the property was purchased by his wife’s company on credit, and the money for the purchase was reflected in his declaration. Kim also stated that the financial reporting related to Yuliia’s activities is handled through her sole proprietorship (FOP).

On the same parking space journalists noticed a Porsche Macan that, according to their information, is used by Yuliia Kim. They established that the car is registered to the construction company “S-Develop,” which belongs to entrepreneur Roman Serbenov. There is no information about this car in the minister’s declaration.

Kim explained that his wife rented the Porsche for occasional use for fewer than 180 days, so he did not list the vehicle in the declaration submitted after his resignation as head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration. Serbenov confirmed to journalists that his company bought the car in 2022 and later leased it to Yuliia.

Investigators paid separate attention to the Volkswagen Touareg, which previously belonged to Kim’s first wife, Olha. According to the data they collected, the official at one time rented this vehicle from a Mykolaiv company, after which the car became the property of his ex-wife. Over recent months the Touareg has been repeatedly seen near Novopecherski Lypky, and traffic violations involving this car have also been recorded.

The minister explained the absence of the Touareg from his declaration by the length of use, referring to the rule concerning 180 days. He also said that Olha is abroad and currently not using the car.

Journalists compared the asset information with the family’s financial indicators. By their calculations, the amount of funds declared by Kim increased by approximately 6,5 million hryvnias compared to 2024. At the same time, the family’s total income for 2025, according to investigators, was about 7 million hryvnias before taxes.

Bihus.Info noted that the increase in savings almost equals the family’s annual income, while there is no record of expenses for purchasing the apartment in the minister’s declaration. Kim, for his part, insists that his wife’s company bought the apartment on credit and that he does not use the property.

Another object of the investigation was the “Kaniv Left-Bank Hunting Estate” in Cherkasy region. It controls about 18 thousand hectares of hunting grounds. According to journalists, in 2025 new owners appeared in the estate, whom they consider possible nominal holders of the asset.

Among these owners is Kim’s long-time business partner Oleksandr Stepanov, who, according to investigators, participated in joint projects with both of the official’s wives. Another owner is Andrii Halkin. Journalists noted that a person with the same first name, last name, and patronymic previously served as an assistant to People’s Deputy Roman Ivanisov, but the mere coincidence of details is not enough to confirm that it is the same person.

Kim said he met Halkin while hunting in 2020. The minister also said he visited the hunting estate several times at friends’ invitations.

Commenting on possible visits by the official to the estate, Stepanov said that Kim may not inform him of his visits because he is sometimes accompanied by people who do not want to draw attention to themselves. Journalists suggested that among such guests could have been Servant of the People faction leader David Arakhamia, but they provided no confirmation of his presence.

Kim’s appointment as minister for veterans’ affairs also drew criticism from some representatives of the veteran and volunteer community. In particular, the founder of the charitable foundation “Volunteer Association Vesta,” Bohdana Levytska, recalled the official’s previous public statements about veterans’ participation in public administration and politics. In her view, such remarks perpetuated stereotypes about people with combat experience.