Ex-Kyiv official from Klitschko team faces new criminal charges

Former Kyiv Council secretary Volodymyr Bondarenko has been charged with paying a mobilized employee nearly ₴700,000 ($16,800) in unlawful wages and assisting his evasion of military service. Prosecutors allege the official used his position to help the serviceman avoid duty during wartime.

The Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office announced the charges on Wednesday, October 9.

Bondarenko case adds to scrutiny of Klitschko’s wartime governance

According to investigators, Bondarenko unlawfully authorized salary payments totaling nearly ₴700,000 ($16,800) to an employee of the Kyiv City Council who had been mobilized for military service between 2022 and 2023.  

The worker, who was already receiving military pay, continued to receive his municipal salary during active duty. Prosecutors said Bondarenko also sent a formal request to the Kyiv City Military Administration, asking for the mobilized employee to be reassigned to work at the City Council instead of fulfilling military duties.  

"As a result, the mobilized individual effectively evaded military service, did not report to his unit, and performed no defense-related tasks," the prosecutor’s office said. An indictment against the employee himself has already been submitted to court.  

Bondarenko faces charges under Article 367(2) of the Criminal Code for official negligence causing serious consequences and Articles 27(5) and 409(4) for aiding draft evasion under martial law. If convicted, he could face 5 to 10 years in prison.  

Critics note that the case underscores persistent accountability issues within Kyiv’s city administration under Mayor Vitali Klitschko, where wartime governance remains under scrutiny.  

Read more:

Klitschko’s top Kyiv aide suspended over fake travel papers

Bureaucracy under Klitschko paralyzes Kyiv’s postwar housing aid