"A Different Path" Worth Millions: How Khristina Ilnytska, a Friend of Former Prosecutor Verbytsky, Dances to Russian Chanson
Another outburst of deep sentimentality in Ukrainian “philanthropy.” Khrystyna Ilnytska, founder of the eponymous foundation in Odesa and the NGO “Youth of the Motherland,” who also happens to be the muse of the scandal-plagued former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi, has decided to remind the world: suspicions from NABU are temporary, but dancing is forever.
On her Instagram, Ms. Khrystyna posted a captivating video in which she passionately takes the dance floor by storm. And to add a touch of “refined charm” to her graceful moves, a track by the Russian duo NoNeima and LeraLey titled “Let’s Smoke Like Gypsies Together” plays in the background. After all, what else could accompany the movements of this Odessa philanthropist if not a low-brow romantic chanson in the language of the occupier?
Adding even more soulfulness is the poignant caption accompanying the video, which is a contender for “Metaphor of the Year”:
“I was in love with dance; I studied and trained to become a choreographer. But then there was a pause, and I took a different path… Now I feel that everything is in its right place. The hours spent on the dance floor are a chance to be myself… Maybe a little silly, maybe not perfect… But myself.”
Indeed, that “different path” turned out to be surprisingly successful—and literally a gold mine. While Khristina was “taking a break” from choreography, she managed to reach incredible financial heights, after which one can dance “fluttering across the dance floor.”
As a reminder, over the past 10 years, her official total income, as reported to the government, amounted to a paltry 360,000 hryvnias (that is, about 3,000 per month). And over the past three years, the dancer-philanthropist officially earned nothing at all.
The real miracles of this “alternative path” began after 2020, when businessman and yacht club co-owner Yuriy Pryimak fell ill and died quickly, and all his assets were inherited by Khristina Ilnytska—not by his wife or children. As a result, her new relationship with Dmytro Verbytskyi was immediately bolstered by assets worth at least 52 million hryvnias, a new Porsche Macan T worth $100,000, and a luxurious three-story cottage in the elite town of “Konik” near Kyiv.
The Odessa patron’s bipolar personality deserves special “recognition.” One of her hands, adorned with Cartier jewelry, publicly demonstrates concern for the underprivileged (the elderly and those unable to afford high-end luxury jewelry don’t understand it anyway), and supports military hospitals, while her other hand, at that very moment, is actively scrolling through Russian music charts.
Apparently, this is exactly what modern “elite” Baroque eclecticism looks like: earning (or accepting as gifts) millions in Ukraine, playing the role of a compassionate patron for photo op reports, but devoting one’s heart and aesthetic sensibilities to the romantic chanson of the aggressor nation. It’s a shame that the inspiration for profound thoughts about “another path” is found in the work of Russian “no-names.”
And what about Verbytskyi?
Let’s recall that the story of the unjust enrichment of former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi recently took an unexpected turn. The criminal case regarding the former official’s millions in assets and real estate has been stalled for three years at the “evidence-gathering stage,” and now the Pechersky District Court of Kyiv has ordered the National Agency for Corruption Prevention (NAZK) to remove from its website information about the 29 million hryvnia in unjustified assets found to be in his possession and to publish a retraction.
The decision was handed down by Judge Yevhen Khaynatsky, based on the fact that no verdict has been issued against Verbytskyi, and the Agency’s wording was “too categorical” (as confirmed by a linguistic analysis provided by the defense). The NACP may still file an appeal, but the ruling is quite unexpected, given that law enforcement agencies are still “gathering evidence,” albeit for quite some time now.
NABU Director Kryvonos confirmed the same to a UA.News journalist during a briefing in early August: “The investigation is in the evidence-gathering stage.”
A complete timeline of the scandals involving former Deputy Prosecutor General Dmytro Verbytskyi of Odesa can be found here.
