Against the backdrop of war, Russia's diplomatic isolation, and the need to strengthen its international presence, Ukraine unexpectedly appointed a new ambassador to the Sultanate of Oman, Olga Selykh. However, her biography and declaration raised a number of questions, both among journalists and among the diplomatic community. After all, the new representative of Ukraine has never worked in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and her past is closely connected with construction tenders, private companies, and potential violations of anti-corruption legislation.
Olga Selykh is not a career diplomat. Her career began in 2008, when she headed Kyiv Invest-Bud LLC, a company that specialized in construction work and repeatedly participated in government tenders. Later, she also managed Global Bud-Project LLC, and now owns another company, International Trading Company. All of these companies are registered at the same address in Kyiv.
Journalists from the international detective agency Absolution have established that Selykh is linked to a number of winning tenders for repairs, including for the state-run Ukrinform agency. Additional suspicion is raised by the regular winning rotation in procurements between Selykh's companies and her sister Lyudmila Dyakova's company, Electro-Trading Ukraine LLC.
Selykh's only connection to the international sphere is taking short-term courses at the Gennady Udovenko Diplomatic Academy. She has not carried out any diplomatic or analytical work within the Foreign Ministry system.
Despite this, she was appointed ambassador to a country that has significant importance in the field of Middle Eastern diplomacy, contacts with the West, and logistics.
The most questionable is Selykh's declaration for 2023. She indicated only UAH 150,000 in salary received from part-time work at the Liberty Lux condominium, where she works as the deputy chairman of the board. At the same time, there is not a word about income from business or consulting.
However, the list of declared assets demonstrates a completely different level of wealth:
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apartment in Kyiv (96.9 m²) — UAH 1.9 million;
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non-residential premises in the capital — UAH 2.8 million;
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plots of land in Volyn — over 680 thousand UAH;
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Toyota Camry 2017 car — 874 thousand UAH;
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Italian furniture Giorgio Collection — 383 thousand UAH.
Given the discrepancy between assets and official income, experts do not rule out that the NACP or the National Police may open proceedings for the submission of inaccurate data.
On social media, Selykh is subscribed to a number of Russian pages: “Women's Paradise”, “I am happy”, “The world for you”, as well as the page of Russian psychologist Mikhail Labkovsky. Although the fact itself is not a crime, in the conditions of a full-scale war with Russia it causes at least concern about the information hygiene of the future diplomat.
