While Odessans watch the scandals surrounding Mayor Gennady Trukhanov, a much more powerful tandem is forming in the shadows. The head of the Odessa OVA, Oleh Kiper, and the former head of the Dnipropetrovsk region, General Serhiy Lysak, are locking in key financial flows in the region — from shelters and budget contracts to schemes with sanctioned assets. Their alliance is already called one of the most influential informal decision-making centers in southern Ukraine.
Oleg Kiper has long been at the center of criticism. His management style is described as a combination of manual control over security forces and the use of administrative resources for private interests. His outrageous wardrobe of Zegna and Brioni jackets only emphasizes the dissonance between public declarations and the real standard of living.
According to local deputies and experts, Kiper has actually built his own "vertical" of influence. It includes tender committees, heads of municipal structures, part of the judiciary, and a number of business groups that work mainly on state contracts. During wartime, this concentration of powers made it possible to expand schemes that were previously local to the regional scale.
The emergence of Lysak: why the general became the governor's new partner
Experts explain Serhiy Lysak's arrival in the Odessa political architecture simply: the region needed a powerful "overseer" capable of ensuring the stability of schemes within the vertical. In the Dnipropetrovsk region, Lysak had already gained a reputation as an official who controlled selected contractors and actually shaped the market for defense and construction works.
In the Odessa region, he appeared as an ally of Kiper - and very quickly merged into the local system. Sources in regional structures claim: it was Lysak who became the key communicator between Kiper and the contractors who enter into reconstruction projects and build shelters. His appearance provided a "force cover" for the schemes and gave the tandem confidence in impunity.
One of the biggest scandals that led to the duo's emergence in the media field was the story of the assets of Russian businessman Igor Naumets. After the introduction of sanctions, his property was supposed to become state property. Instead, according to documents and materials from journalistic investigations, it ended up in structures associated with former MP Sergei Shapran.
The scheme looked classic: re-registration of companies, fictitious contracts, undervaluation and court decisions that "cleaned" assets. According to sources, some of these operations took place with the tacit support of the Kiper structure, and the new companies that received the assets continued to conduct activities related to Russian counterparties. This calls into question not only the legality, but also the security aspect of such transactions.
The most noticeable direction for the residents of the region was the construction of shelters. After the full-scale invasion, the Odessa region received hundreds of millions of hryvnias for these needs. However, the pace of work and the quality of the facilities raised more and more questions.
Communities complain about shelters that cost more than private homes, projects with unreasonably large budgets, and situations where completion of facilities is delayed for no apparent reason. Several contractors are already operating in the region and regularly receive large contracts. They are informally linked to Kiper's entourage, although there is no official confirmation.
Lysak's appearance in this direction has only increased suspicions. According to local officials, it is he who informally oversees some of the defense and construction projects, providing "necessary solutions" at the level of law enforcement agencies.
Fertilizer scandal: a scheme that could cost the state billions
A new round of criticism occurred after the publication of information about an attempt to legalize the import of mineral fertilizers through a specific scheme with tax minimization. According to media reports, it was Kiper who lobbied the interests of groups that sought to introduce a large batch of products to the market in violation of the rules. If the scheme is implemented, the budget risks losing billions of hryvnias, and the strategic sector will remain without state control.
This episode has significantly increased attention to the Kiper-Lysak duo. Anti-corruption organizations have already stated that they intend to transfer the materials to law enforcement agencies, although the prospects for a real investigation are still vague.
Analysts note that the phenomenon of the Kiper-Lysak duo became possible due to weak coordination between law enforcement and civilian structures, as well as the lack of systematic control over regional expenditures during wartime. The Odessa region receives significant state funds, especially for defense and infrastructure projects, and there is practically no real mechanism for controlling their use.
The result is a shadowy decision-making system that influences budget allocation, access to contracts, and the management of strategic assets. And while Kiper and Lysak publicly position themselves as leaders working for the defense of the region, the actual activities of their entourage are raising more and more questions.
