Ukraine's City Councils Spent Nearly 149 Million UAH on Advertising in 2025

How Ukrainian City Councils Spent on Advertising in 2025: An Analysis

According to Главком: In 2025, Ukrainian city councils contracted advertising services worth almost 149 million UAH, according to an analysis by Dozorro Transparency International Ukraine. This represents a slight decrease from 157 million UAH in 2024. To provide context, these expenditures come amid ongoing war and tight budgets, raising questions about priorities and transparency. The top spenders were:

• Kryvyi Rih – 37 million UAH
• Kharkiv – 19.3 million UAH
• Kyiv – 18.4 million UAH
• Kamianske – 12.8 million UAH

Dnipro saw a sharp drop to 8.7 million UAH, following a criminal investigation into previous ad procurement schemes.

Advertising Spending by City

In Kryvyi Rih, over half of the advertising costs came from contracts signed at the start of 2026. The city-owned Institute for Development of Kryvyi Rih signed a 12 million UAH deal in February 2025 with TV and Radio Company Media-System LLC, followed by a 13.7 million UAH contract with TV and Radio Company Nova LLC in early 2026. Additionally, in 2025, the institute allocated 5.2 million UAH for coverage in newspapers and online media, with another 6 million UAH for similar services in early 2026. More than 90% of these publications mention Yuriy or Oleksandr Vilkul.

Kharkiv City Council contracted 19.3 million UAH in advertising in 2025, down from 21 million UAH in 2024. Nearly 7 million UAH went to Intercom-invest LLC for television airtime, while over 5.5 million UAH was spent on radio placements. Local media coverage cost 4.5 million UAH, including outlets like Slobidskyi Krai, Dumka, Status Quo, and Obiektyv. Notably, the Obiektyv website is owned by city council member Oleksandr Davtyan and his children, and Mayor Ihor Terekhov appeared in 15% of all its news stories in 2025.

Kyiv City Council structures contracted 18.4 million UAH for information campaigns in 2025, down from 20 million UAH in 2024. The city-owned Center for Communication signed contracts worth 7.4 million UAH for over 20 campaigns, while the Department of Public Communications of the Kyiv City State Administration spent about 6 million UAH. Kamianske contracted 12.8 million UAH in advertising in 2025, also a decrease from 15 million UAH in 2024. The city's advertising department contracted 3 million UAH, with 1.7 million UAH going to individual entrepreneur Dmytro Andriyovych Ryabov.

Dnipro contracted 8.7 million UAH in advertising in 2025, a significant drop from 43 million UAH in 2024. In October 2024, the Security Service of Ukraine and National Police uncovered a scheme embezzling at least 34 million UAH from ad procurements in Dnipro between 2021 and 2023. In August 2025, former director of the city-owned Organizational and Analytical Service, Andriy Kovalenko, was notified of suspicion. The Dnipro City Television Studio signed a 4 million UAH contract with Zolota Seredyna LLC to place 166 articles on the Obozrevatel website.

Overall, in 2025, nearly 600 million UAH in advertising was contracted through Prozorro, up from over 520 million UAH in 2024. More than half of all ad contracts were in the Kyiv region at 346.2 million UAH, followed by Dnipropetrovsk region with 75.5 million UAH, and Kharkiv region with 34.8 million UAH. Six procurements worth 2.2 million UAH had no regional affiliation.

This material was made possible with support from the MATRA Program of the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ukraine.

Nataliia Izhytska, a journalist at Dozorro TI Ukraine, notes that advertising has become a key tool for city councils to communicate with the public and promote social campaigns.

The reduction in ad spending in some cities, such as Dnipro, may indicate efforts to combat corruption schemes linked to procurement. As significant embezzlement cases come to light, city councils might be forced to rethink their communication and spending strategies. At the same time, the overall rise in national ad spending highlights the importance of such campaigns for maintaining public engagement and promoting social initiatives, especially amid current challenges. Therefore, continued monitoring and analysis of these procurements remain crucial to ensure transparency and accountability in the use of budget funds.

As city councils navigate tight budgets amid ongoing challenges, examining their advertising expenditures sheds light on broader spending trends. For instance, a recent analysis revealed that the significant funds allocated to Ukraine's telethon reflect how media strategies are evolving in response to current events. Understanding these patterns can provide valuable insights into the priorities of local governments in these unprecedented times.