The wife of the new Ukrainian ambassador to the UAE bought an apartment in Dubai for 13.3 million hryvnias: most of the family’s income is registered to her

The wife of the new Ukrainian ambassador to the UAE bought an apartment in Dubai for 13.3 million hryvnias: most of the family’s income is registered to her

The wife of Ukraine’s new ambassador to the UAE, former Deputy Minister of Defence Oleksandr Balanutsa, purchased an apartment in Dubai for 13.3 million hryvnias.

Oleksandr Balanutsa indicated in his declaration that his registered place of residence is Kyiv, while his actual residence is a village in the Boryspil district of Kyiv region. Family members of the declarant include his wife Olha Melnyk, son Oleksandr, and two daughters Solomiya and Daryna. Interestingly, his wife is registered in Odesa, but actually lives in the UAE.

In Boryspil, Balanutsa owns an apartment (105 m²) of undisclosed value, purchased in 2011. Three apartments in Kyiv (44.7 m², 36.2 m², 61.2 m²), purchased in 2019-2022, belong to his wife. Their total declared value is about 2.7 million UAH. 

The wife also owns an apartment in Polyanytsia (Ivano-Frankivsk region) (61.2 m², purchased in 2022) valued at 734 thousand UAH, as well as an apartment in the UAE (78 m², purchased in 2023) valued at 13.34 million UAH. She also has an unfinished apartment in the UAE (117 m²), but its value is not specified.

The only vehicle listed in the declaration is a Nissan X-Terra (2023), purchased in May 2024 for 1.17 million UAH. The car is registered to the wife.

The total income of the Balanutsa family for the reporting period is about 17.2 million UAH, of which only 1.2 million UAH is attributed to Oleksandr Balanutsa, and the rest to his wife. The husband received 514 thousand hryvnias from the MFA and an additional 636 thousand hryvnias in overseas travel compensations. Balanutsa also received 663 thousand hryvnias from the MOD. 

Additionally, the official received a social benefit of 14 thousand hryvnias for the birth of a child.

Olha Melnyk, as an entrepreneur, earned 966 thousand hryvnias, and an additional 932 thousand hryvnias from property rental. Income from the disposal of real estate amounted to 14.42 million UAH, and the salary from Gravitas Group (UAE) was 2.41 million UAH.

Oleksandr Balanutsa has 78 thousand dollars and 636 thousand hryvnias in bank accounts, while his wife holds 1,322,797 AED (approximately 360 thousand dollars) in Emirates NBD, 216 thousand AED (approximately 59 thousand dollars) in Mashreq Bank. She also has 84.6 thousand dollars in Ukrainian banks.