Well-known Mykolaiv boxers remain in custody: what the appellate court decided

Behind bars or out on bail until December 25: what is known about the case against the heads of Mykolaiv sports schools

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12 Nov 2026

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Олег Машкін та Ірина Бондаренко (фото з Facebook-сторінки Ірини Бондаренко)

Mykolaiv Court of Appeal has upheld the detention of former head of the city’s Sports Department Oleh Mashkin. He remains in custody. Footage from the courtroom was published by Ihor Bloshko. Well-known boxer and coach Serhii Kovhanko is also being held in the pretrial detention center alongside Mashkin.

Mashkin and Kovhanko are to remain in custody until December 25, unless they choose to post bail. The Court of Appeal considered the appeal concerning the preventive measure imposed specifically on Oleh Mashkin and upheld the lower court’s decision.

Oleh Mashkin is the former head of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports of the Mykolaiv City Council and an Honored Master of Sports of Ukraine in boxing. After working for the city department, he continued his career in sports, serving as deputy director and boxing coach at the Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve No. 6.

Serhii Kovhanko is a Mykolaiv boxer and coach, director of Specialized Children and Youth Sports School of Olympic Reserve No. 6. Mashkin and Kovhanko are known in the sporting community as winners and medalists at numerous boxing championships and competitions.

Ihor Bloshko, who published the video from the courthouse, works as an anti-corruption officer at the municipal enterprise Mykolaivvodokanal. He previously served as head of the Human Trafficking Unit of the Mykolaiv Regional Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the Institute of Mass Information, his asset declaration also lists work as a journalist for Ukrpres-Info.

The case involving Mashkin and Kovhanko is connected to an investigation into the possible fictitious employment of staff at Mykolaiv sports schools and the misappropriation of public funds. Its background dates back to January 2026, when law enforcement officers searched the city council’s Sports Department and municipal sports facilities.

The head of the Sports Department, Iryna Bondarenko, became the focus of a separate episode in the investigation. On April 29, 2026, she was notified that she was suspected of misappropriating public funds. According to investigators, people were formally employed at sports facilities under the department’s supervision despite not actually performing their duties, while still receiving salaries. The amount involved in this episode exceeds 558,000 hryvnias. In May, the court suspended Bondarenko from her position and ordered her held in custody with the option of posting bail. Bail was subsequently posted. In September, the court rejected the prosecutor’s request to extend her suspension, and the official returned to her duties.

At the same time, law enforcement is investigating a possible fictitious employment scheme at sports schools involving five current and former heads and deputy heads of the institutions. According to investigators, the scheme may have operated from late February 2022 through February 2026, and losses to the local budget may have exceeded 1.5 million hryvnias. On October 21, 2026, the Central District Court of Mykolaiv imposed preventive measures on five suspects. Three of them were remanded in custody with the option of posting bail. Those named in the case include Oleh Mashkin and Serhii Kovhanko.

For now, the Court of Appeal’s decision means that the preventive measure imposed on Mashkin remains unchanged. However, neither a suspicion nor detention constitutes a conviction: the guilt of all those involved must be established by a court.

Previously, we reported:

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