Bribery case: Head of the Mykolaiv Territorial Recruitment Center released from pre-trial detention after posting UAH 2.33 million bail

Bail and travel ban: court extends obligations for former head of the Mykolaiv Territorial Recruitment Center

Цей матеріал також доступний:

07 Oct 2026

0 703

Начальник Миколаївського ОТЦК, Віталій Куліш

Investigating Judge of the Central District Court of Mykolaiv, Halyna Podzihun, extended the term of the procedural obligations imposed on Vitalii Kulish, the former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center, who is suspected, among other things, of demanding and receiving an undue advantage. He is charged with a criminal offense under Part 3 of Article 368 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

In August 2026, the court ordered the suspect to be held in custody and set bail at 4,659,200 hryvnias. Later, the appellate court overturned this ruling by the Central District Court of Mykolaiv and issued a new one, cutting the bail amount in half to 2,329,600 hryvnias.

If bail was posted, the suspect was subject to the obligations set out in Part 5 of Article 194 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine. The bail set by the court for Vitalii Kulish was subsequently paid.

At a new court hearing on October 7, 2026, the prosecutor filed a motion to extend the term of the procedural obligations imposed on the suspect.

The defense did not object to extending the obligations in general, but asked the court to change the territorial restriction imposed on Vitalii Kulish. The lawyer argued that the suspect should be allowed to move freely within Mykolaiv Oblast, and that permission from an investigator, prosecutor, or court should be required only to leave the oblast.

Following the hearing, Investigating Judge Halyna Podzihun partially granted the prosecutor’s motion and extended the obligations.

The former head of the Mykolaiv Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center is now required to:

appear before an investigator, prosecutor, or court upon first request;
notify an investigator, prosecutor, or court of any change of residence or employment;
not leave Mykolaiv Oblast without permission from an investigator, prosecutor, or court;
refrain from communicating with witnesses in the criminal proceedings;
surrender his international passport to the relevant government authorities for safekeeping.

The prosecutor also asked the court to suspend Vitalii Kulish from his position as head of the Mykolaiv Regional Territorial Recruitment and Social Support Center.

The defense attorney opposed the motion. He submitted an order to the court showing that Vitalii Kulish had been dismissed from his position at the end of August 2026. The defense therefore stressed that it was effectively impossible to suspend someone from a position they no longer held.

During closing arguments, the prosecutor left the decision on this issue to the court.

As a result, Investigating Judge Halyna Podzihun denied the prosecutor’s motion to suspend the suspect from his position. The remaining procedural obligations continue to apply, including the restriction preventing Vitalii Kulish from leaving Mykolaiv Oblast without the required permission.

The case involving the former head of the regional recruitment center became public in August 2026. Law enforcement officials reported his arrest on suspicion of receiving an undue advantage. At the time, the court of first instance set bail at 4,659,200 hryvnias, which was later reduced by the appellate court to 2,329,600 hryvnias.

We previously reported:

Тег