The declaration of the new Ukrainian ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, former Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksandr Balanutsa, reveals his wife's apartment in Dubai worth over 13 million hryvnias. Despite martial law and declarative modesty, the diplomat's family demonstrates a lifestyle that can hardly be called restrained.
According to the declaration for 2024, the diplomat's wife, Olga Melnyk, purchased an apartment in the UAE with an area of 78 m² for UAH 13.34 million in 2023. In addition, she owns another property in the Emirates - an unfinished apartment with an area of 117 m², the cost of which is not disclosed.
It also has several apartments in Ukraine:
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three apartments in Kyiv (with a total area of over 140 m² and a declared value of 2.7 million UAH),
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apartment in Polyanytsia, purchased in 2022 for 734 thousand UAH,
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old housing in Boryspil, owned by Balanuka, without specified value.
From transport, there is only one car: a 2023 Nissan X-Terra, purchased for UAH 1.17 million and registered to his wife.
In fact, the family lives in the UAE, although Balanutsa himself indicated the Boryspil district as his place of residence, and his wife indicated Odessa.
Where is the money?
For 2024, the family declared UAH 17.2 million in income. Of these,:
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Balanutsa received about 1.2 million UAH (514 thousand from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 636 thousand in compensation for business trips, and 663 thousand from the Ministry of Defense).
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Olga Melnyk — 16 million. Main sources:
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966 thousand UAH — entrepreneurial activity;
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UAH 932 thousand — property rental;
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UAH 2.41 million — salary from the Dubai-based company Gravitas Group;
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UAH 14.42 million — income from the sale of real estate.
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Financial assets are also impressive:
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Balanutsa holds 78 thousand dollars and 636 thousand hryvnias in bank accounts.
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His wife has 1.32 million dirhams (≈360 thousand dollars) in Emirates NBD, 216 thousand dirhams (≈59 thousand dollars) in Mashreq Bank, and another 84.6 thousand dollars in Ukrainian banks.
Interestingly, Olga Melnyk works for the Gravitas Group company in the UAE, from where she receives the highest salary. However, there is almost no information in open sources about the real activities of this structure.
Despite her position at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the family has actually settled in the Emirates — with expensive apartments, a car, and a job at a local company. Olga Melnyk herself, judging by her documents, is registered in Ukraine, but lives in Dubai. The children also live with her.
This raises the question of whether this lifestyle of a public official complies with the principles of declared transparency, and most importantly, how justified is such a display of luxury during wartime.
