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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Deputy Head of the Kyiv City State Administration Marina Honda, who since December 2018 has been responsible for the capital’s social policy, continues to hold her post amid several criminal proceedings concerning budget funds in the sector under her authority. In 2025 investigators reported suspicions against officials and entrepreneurs in cases regarding 75 million UAH under the “Care. Towards Kyivans” program and nearly 60 million UAH allocated for palliative care. A separate proceeding concerns purchases of medical products and hygiene items with alleged losses of 13,5 million UAH. According to available information, Honda herself has not been formally suspected in these cases.
On 23 July 2025, the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General notified former Director of the Department of Social and Veteran Policy of the KSCA Ruslan Svitlyi of suspicion of embezzling budget funds on an especially large scale. According to investigators, of the 150 million UAH allocated for social services under the “Care. Towards Kyivans” program, almost half may have been appropriated through contracts with entrepreneurs and documents for services that were not actually provided. Among the examples, investigators cited fictitious records of exercise bike sessions for patients who could not get out of bed independently. The case also involved three entrepreneurs, reporters wrote. Ruslan Svitlyi headed the department since 2019, and before that he ran the municipal enterprise “Pharmacy.” After the suspicion was announced, a court imposed pretrial detention on him with an alternative bail of 30 million UAH. Before his dismissal, Svitlyi purchased an apartment of 76,38 sq. m for 2,82 million UAH and a parking space for 726 thousand UAH. In 2024 he was also registered as owning a house and a land plot of 13 sotkas in Motovylyanka for 200 thousand UAH. Journalists reported he used a Porsche. In December 2025, Kyiv City Military Administration Head Tymur Tkachenko announced the return to the budget of more than 40 million UAH within the “Care. Towards Kyivans” investigation. According to the prosecutor’s office, the total reimbursement at that time amounted to 60,5 million UAH. That did not mean all procedural actions were complete: the investigation covered several officials and entrepreneurs, and the return of funds does not substitute for a court finding of guilt.
Another proceeding concerns nearly 60 million UAH allocated in 2022–2024 for assistance to seriously ill patients. On 21 March 2025 the SBU reported uncovering an alleged embezzlement of funds intended for palliative support. According to investigators, money was transferred to contractors and individual entrepreneurs for services that did not meet program conditions. Two deputy department directors, the head of a private company, and a former deputy director of the KSCA Department of Health received suspicions.
The Department of Social and Veteran Policy of the KSCA denied claims of proven losses of nearly 60 million UAH. Former head Ruslan Svitlyi stated there was no court expert report confirming that sum, and service providers confirmed performance with acceptance certificates. Thus, in this case the investigators’ position on possible embezzlement and the city department’s denial remained at odds; the final assessment of the evidence must be made by a court.
A separate episode concerns purchases of medical products and hygiene items. According to submitted materials, the prosecutor’s office as early as 2021 reported purchases with markups over 100% and probable budget losses of 13,5 million UAH. Seven suspects were involved, and the indictment was sent to court. This episode adds to the list of investigations into Kyiv’s social sector, but by itself does not establish Marina Honda’s personal responsibility.
Marina Honda has worked in Kyiv authorities since 2001. Previously she was an assistant to people’s deputy Valeriy Borysov, headed the legal department of Kyivsubterranean construction (“Kyivpidzemshlyakhbud”), and later worked in the Department of Internal Policy and the KSCA Department of Public Communications. In 12 December 2018 the Kyiv City Council 77 votes approved her appointment as deputy head of the KSCA. Her responsibilities include social programs, veterans’ issues, children, and tourism.
In August 2021 prosecutors released recordings of conversations between Marina Honda and then‑head of the Tourism Department Maryna Radova, which law enforcement interpreted as an attempt to conceal documents. Honda denied the accusations. In April 2025, after videos of gatherings in Radova’s official office from 2022 surfaced, Honda confirmed the recordings were authentic but said she did not participate in those events. Radova left her post. These circumstances alone are not proof of Honda’s involvement in embezzlement of budget funds.
Amid the investigations, Honda’s official income rose. According to published declarations, her salary increased from 754 thousand UAH in 2019 to 2,23 million UAH in 2024. In 2021 she received 776 thousand UAH; in 2022 about 1,006 million UAH; in 2023 807 thousand UAH. In 2024 the average monthly salary was approximately 186 thousand UAH. For comparison, Vitali Klitschko declared 1,23 million UAH for the entire 2024 year. The difference alone does not indicate wrongdoing, since pay depends on position, allowances, and bonuses.
In 2025 Honda was paid 231,5 thousand UAH for January, 224,3 thousand UAH for February, and 310,3 thousand UAH for July. Additional payments listed include 162,7 thousand UAH in material assistance, 160,1 thousand UAH for health improvement, a bonus of 26,8 thousand UAH, and an intensity-of-labor allowance of 42 thousand UAH. Her declarations also list an apartment of 127,5 sq. m, a garage, and six land plots totaling 7,48 ha in Chernihiv region. An apartment of 43,4 sq. m is registered to her son. Honda’s savings rose from 300 thousand UAH in 2023 to 705,77 thousand UAH in 2024. On 30 June 2026 she purchased a Mazda CX‑30 for 1 million 381,1 thousand UAH.
In May 2026 Marina Honda won a lawsuit against the Telegram channel “Trukha” and its owner Maksym Lavrynenko over claims of her personal involvement in a scheme for 60 million UAH. The court obliged the defendants to retract the false information. Honda was represented by lawyer Oleksiy Shevchuk. Published reports on the case said the Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed there were no criminal proceedings or suspicions directly against her.
Therefore, the criminal proceedings concern specific officials, contractors, and budget transactions in Kyiv’s social sector. Marina Honda has retained her position as deputy head of the KSCA, and there is no information that she has been notified of suspicion in the described cases. At the same time, the scale of the amounts allocated to social services, the number of persons involved, and the recovery of some funds make the outcomes of investigations and court proceedings key to assessing the use of budget money in the field under her authority.
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Марина Хонда: 75 млн на фіктивній допомозі, 60 млн на паліативі та мільйонні зарплати". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Fraza.
