High salaries, awards and rear offices: Sienkevych's adviser demands that officials join the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The freelance advisor to the mayor of Mykolaiv on veterans, families of the dead and prisoners, former Member of Parliament of Ukraine Hennadiy Zadirko made a sharp statement regarding the mobilization of officials. He is convinced that civil servants and deputies should personally join the service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Hennadiy Zadirko’s current status as a freelance advisor to the mayor is confirmed by a municipal order.

In his post Zadirko specifically mentioned the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Council Anton Tabunshchyk, the director of the Mykolaiv Regional Employment Center Dmytro Oboronko and the acting head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Heorhiy Reshetilov. The surname of the employment center director provided the basis for a wordplay about the “main DEFENDER”: the institution’s official website confirms that its director is Dmytro Oboronko.

Separately, Zadirko criticized the high salaries of officials and the practice of awarding civil servants during the war. Earlier Korabelov.info reported that the leadership of the Mykolaiv Regional Council declared a total of UAH 4,625,531 in salaries for 2025. Personally, Anton Tabunshchyk received UAH 1,834,581, or on average about UAH 152.8 thousand per month.

At the same time Zadirko recalled the “regional council head Tabunshchyk wounded while hunting.” In the high-profile story of December 2025, it was reported that it may have been not Anton Tabunshchyk himself but his deputy Denys Andriiev who was wounded during a hunt. At that time the police reported that they had not received statements about firearm or other injuries during hunting in Voznesenskyi district on December 20–21, and Tabunshchyk claimed that he had not been on that hunt. (korabelov.info)

Hennadiy Zadirko set out his position on Facebook, proposing to form a whole “bureaucratic brigade” in the Mykolaiv region:

My principled position: all civil servants and deputies must go to serve in the Armed Forces. Take, for example, the Mykolaiv region. The regional council head Tabunshchyk, wounded while hunting, has experience in shooting combat — he could join the assault troops… Or the head of the regional employment center: he would finally become an example of employment in the Armed Forces and the main “DEFENDER” of the state and his family. By the way, the acting head of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration Reshetilov can also become an example for draft dodgers. The same applies to the towns and settlements of the region. I think Mykolaiv region can easily form a bureaucratic brigade. Guys, how long can you keep polluting the sky? Finally, be men. How long can you keep awarding each other state honors and receiving unreasonable salaries? After all, your unnecessary work can be done by women. Or have you already changed your gender?

Earlier we wrote:

• Zelensky awarded eight representatives of Mykolaiv region on the 35th anniversary of Independence
• While some fight for years: the Cabinet was proposed to send 40% of territorial recruitment centers and police to the front
• Former opponent of Senkevych Zadirko became an advisor on veterans and families of the dead and prisoners
• While the region survives during the war: the leadership of the Mykolaiv Regional Council declared over UAH 4.6 million in salaries
• “Lost one” from the regional council: a top official wounded while hunting disappeared from contact