A visit with a suspicious signature: why the deputy head of the Kherson MVA went to France without approval

Vitaly Belobrov, Deputy Head of the Kherson City Military Administration, recently made an official visit to France, which raised concerns about potential law violations.

Belobrov’s trip, which took place from May 13 to 16, 2025, in the cities of Nantes and Saint-Nazaire, was initiated at the invitation of Joanna Roland, President of the Nantes Metropolitan Municipality. The primary purpose was to sign a declaration on a strategic partnership for the restoration of Kherson. However, the availability of the necessary permits for the trip raised doubts, as reported by Kavun.City.

The Kherson District Military Administration prepared the order for Belobrov’s departure; however, as Deputy Mayor, he should have received permission to leave from the relevant authorities. Today, the Mayor of Kherson has been in captivity in the Russian Federation for three years, and a new head of the Kherson City Military Administration has not yet been appointed after the release of his predecessor in April.

Despite this, an order for a business trip was issued, signed not by the head of the administration but by his deputy. The document recommends considering the possibility of financing the trip from the state budget.

The basis for issuing the order was a letter from the executive committee of the Kherson City Council, dated May 9, which Belobrov himself wrote and signed. The document does not provide reasons why he turned to the RBA rather than other authorized bodies.

Journalists from “Kavun.City” believe that such a trip may indicate abuse of authority or even fraud.

On May 27, information appeared about the opening of criminal proceedings for illegal crossing of the state border and forgery of documents. Investigators are conducting interviews among RBA and MBA officials and collecting materials related to the trip.

According to the MOST publication, in 2024, Belobrov declared an income of almost UAH 1.4 million. He owns an apartment in Kherson, three land plots in the Holoprystan community, as well as two cars – a 2021 HYUNDAI TUCSON and a 2012 KIA RIO. He also has UAH 300,000 in cash, and his wife Svitlana declared another UAH 100,000.

It is worth noting that the former mayor of Kherson, Volodymyr Mykolayenko, remains in Russian captivity, having decided in 2022 that he should be released, wounded in serious condition.