Head of Solomianskyi District Court, Ukrainets, spent four years building cottage worth $100,000 and failed to declare it, - AntAC
Vitalii Ukrainets, the president of the Solomianskyi District Court of Kyiv, failed to declare an unfinished construction project in an upmarket suburb of Kyiv for four years.
This is according to an investigation by the Anti-Corruption Action Centre, as reported by Censor.NET.
Details
He did so only three hours after receiving a call from the Anti-Corruption Action Centre.
It is known that Ukrainets has applied for the position of judge at the Kyiv Court of Appeal.
Since 2021, Ukrainets has declared 0.12 hectares of land in the ‘Druzi’ gardening association in the village of Stari Bezradychi, Kozin community, Kyiv region. He owns this property jointly with his wife.
The family purchased the land in autumn 2020 for 130,000 UAH. The Anti-Corruption Centre considers this price to be below market value.
Satellite images show that in March 2020, the judge’s plot was empty.
However, by 2021, the foundations for a house had already been laid there.
In 2022, a two-storey shell was likely erected.
In March 2026, the house looked like this on satellite maps.
And from the ground, the cottage looked like this as of March 2026.
Data from the Unified State Electronic System for Construction indicates that the house of the head of the Solomianskyi District Court has an area of 194.76 square metres. According to media reports, in 2025 the average cost of a standard aerated concrete block house was $500 per square metre. Meanwhile, near the allotment association where Judge Ukrainets’ house is located, there is an advertisement for turnkey construction.
Builders say that a "turnkey shell" – "without furniture or appliances" – costs "at least $800" per square metre.
"In other words, builders have estimated the cost of constructing a cottage similar in size to Judge Ukrainets’ at approximately $156,000," the Anti-Corruption Centre noted.
Architect Oleh Hrechukh told the AntAC that this construction could have cost approximately $200,000.
Hrechukh also noted that the land would have cost "from several thousand dollars per 100 square metres". This price is dictated by the prestigious location next to the motorway, which provides quick access to Kyiv. It is also due to the fact that roads and electrical infrastructure need to be laid to the plot
The judge has not been declaring the construction in Stari Bezradychi for four years.
"Furthermore, an analysis of the declarations of the head of the Solomianskyi District Court revealed that his family saved approximately half of their annual income between 2021 and 2024. It is therefore unclear how this construction was financed. Moreover, between 2021 and 2024, the judge did not declare any expenses related to this construction," the AntAC reported.
The plot of land on which the house is situated features in criminal proceedings No. 42025112340000284 from 2025, which is currently being conducted by the National Police.
"This is a case concerning the misuse of agricultural land by unidentified individuals. Five years ago, the environmental organisation 'Ukrainian Environmental Group' reported that the land under Vitalii Ukrainets' house belonged to the Kozyn Forestry," investigators noted.
The judge’s neighbours
According to the CPC, the neighbours of the head of the Solomianskyi District Court include the son of the late mayor of Kharkiv, Hennadii Kernes – Danylo Privalov – and a number of people associated with Privalov: Samvel Akobyan, Yurii Stasiv, Mykhailo Dumchev, Ihor Kasianov, and Danylo Martynov (the latter, in fact, sold the land in the "Druzi" gardening association to Judge Ukrainets at a bargain price. Martynov himself is the head of this association).
Ukrainets – a Maidan judge
The AntAC noted that Judge Vitalii Ukrainets is a Maidan judge.
"According to the Public Integrity Council, Ukrainets provided inaccurate information in his integrity declaration and made decisions that were likely politically motivated. However, the High Council of Justice, as the judge points out, found no violations in this and did not hold Ukrainets accountable," they noted.
The judge’s wife, Olha Ukrainets, works as a lawyer.
"Between 2022 and 2025, she represented the interests of a business linked to the Russian defence industry in court. This refers to the company 'AGC Flat Glass Ukraine', founded by the Belgian firm 'AGC GLASS EUROPE' – a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate AGC. According to the international import-export database Import Genius, the main contractor for the Ukrainian limited liability company prior to the full-scale invasion was AGC’s Russian subsidiary, LLT ‘AGC Flat Glass Klin’.
In Russia, AGC GLASS EUROPE’s assets until 2024 were the Klinsky Glass Plant ( KSP) and the Borsky Glass Plant ( BSP). The latter is a supplier of armour glass for Russian armoured vehicle production. It was subject to sanctions in 2024 – three months after the plant was bought by Russian billionaire Igor Leitis. KSP was also subject to sanctions at the same time," the article states.
According to the AntAC, Olha Ukrainets also worked at the "G&K Law Firm" when it was headed by Viktor Medvedchuk’s ex-wife, Natalia Havryliuk.
What does Judge Ukrainets say?
In a comment to the AntAC, the judge explained his failure to declare the construction and related expenses by stating that the main construction work was scheduled for 2025. Therefore, he will include the house and related expenses in his 2025 declaration.
"The judge submitted this declaration three hours after speaking with the AntAC, and for the first time in years included an unfinished construction project in it – the cottage in Stari Bezradychi, which we had investigated," the Centre noted.
Commenting on the funds for the construction, the judge said that there were "no hundreds of thousands of dollars" involved, and that the construction was funded by the family’s declared funds.
The land seller, Danylo Martynov, assured that he sold land to friends and "friends of friends". Therefore, Judge Ukrainets bought the plot of land almost at cost price, as he turned out to be someone’s friend, the AntAC noted.
Martynov also said that the judge’s construction project could have cost $100,000.
AntAC lawyer Roman Verbovskyi stated that satellite images clearly show construction began in 2021. In 2023, the judge officially registered a notification of the start of construction works in the Unified State Electronic System for the Construction Sector
"Consequently, the judge was required to declare the property as a construction project in progress between 2021 and 2024, but he failed to do so. Consequently, the judge’s actions show signs of deliberately entering knowingly false information into the declaration. This constitutes a criminal offence, the maximum penalty for which is imprisonment for up to two years," concluded the Anti-Corruption Centre.
