Svitlana Gorbunova-Ruban, the former deputy mayor of Kharkiv, Ihor Terekhov, began to receive several times more funds from the budget in a year. If in 2024 her annual salary was 281 thousand hryvnias, then in the first ten months of 2025 the total amount of payments has already approached 4 million hryvnias.
This more than fourteen-fold increase has attracted the attention of local public organizations. Activists have sent an official request to the Kharkiv City Council demanding an explanation on the basis of which the former official receives such increased payments. This is not about political assessments, but about the basic issue of transparency in the use of budget funds.
The main thing that interests the authors of the request is whether the level of payments corresponds to the real scope and content of the duties performed, as well as who made the decision to change the terms of payment.
In the document, a copy of which was sent to journalists by public activists, the Kharkiv City Council is asked to provide detailed information about the functional responsibilities of Svitlana Gorbunova-Ruban in 2025 and explain how they differed from her responsibilities in 2024. They are also required to provide documentary confirmation that the official's powers have changed at all - if this could be the formal basis for a sharp increase in payments.
In fact, public organizations are asking the city authorities a simple but fundamental question: has the sharp increase in payments for the former deputy mayor turned into a hidden form of bonuses or remuneration from the city budget? The city council's response to this request should show whether these are justified personnel decisions or another example of non-transparent use of public funds.
