Telpis, former technical director of Mykolaivvodokanal: «The chair of the supervisory board humiliated me. I was subsequently forced to resign»
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- Alina KvitkoReporter
Vasyl Telpis with the Mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych; photo courtesy of the Mykolaivvodokanal press officeVasyl Telpis, former technical director of Mykolaivvodokanal, has stated that he had no intention of resigning after nearly 40 years of service at the company. According to him, he submitted his resignation due to psychological pressure from the new management.
This is set out in Vasyl Telpis’s written explanations, dated 14 April 2026.
The document was made public by Ihor Bloshko, the company’s anti-corruption officer. He said the explanation had been published with the author’s consent.
In his explanation, Vasyl Telpis writes that following the death of Chief Executive Borys Dudenko and the appointment of Hennadii Iziumov as the new head, he began to be pressured to step down from his post.
«In fact, I had no intention of resigning from my post as technical director and had no such plans. I have devoted over 40 years to working for the water utility; I know the business inside out and still have the strength and inspiration to work at this company,» he wrote.
According to Vasyl Telpis, no official complaints had been made regarding his work or the organisation of the operational departments. At the same time, he claims that the new management insisted on his resignation.
In the document, Vasyl Telpis also mentions the chair of the company’s supervisory board, Hanna Montavon. He claims that she did not directly demand that he submit a letter of resignation, but «made this clear through certain remarks».
«That said, no complaints were made to me regarding my work, any shortcomings in my performance, or any comments on the organisation of the work of the structural units. I was simply expected to step down voluntarily. Naturally, I did not agree and continued to carry out my duties in good faith. At first, it seemed to me that this was the wish of the supervisory board, and in particular its chair, Hanna Montavon. She did not speak to me directly about the need to vacate the post, but she made it clear through certain remarks,» Vasyl Telpis noted in his explanation .
Vasyl Telpis also stated that during weekly video conferences, he was unjustifiably criticised in the presence of his subordinates. According to him, members of the supervisory board voiced their complaints as if he alone were to blame for the incidents on the city’s water supply networks.
Oleksandr Sienkevych presents Vasyl Telpis with the ‘For Services to the City’ award, screenshot from FacebookVasyl Telpis also noted that such meetings were often held outside working hours and sometimes lasted until 9.00 pm. After that, he said, he began to sense a negative attitude from the chief executive, Hennadiy Izyumov, as well.
«During weekly video conferences, I was unjustifiably reprimanded in a humiliating manner in front of my subordinates. Both Montavon and other members of the Supervisory Board levelled complaints at me regarding my work, as if I were personally to blame for the incidents occurring in the water supply network. Not to mention that these video conferences took place outside working hours and sometimes lasted until 9 pm. Consequently, following this treatment by the Supervisory Board, I sensed a negative attitude from the new Chief Executive, Hennadii Iziumov. Eventually, he demanded that I submit a letter of resignation. I refused and continued to carry out my duties,» said Vasyl Telpis.
Following his refusal, Vasyl Telpis stated that the pressure on him had intensified. In his explanation, he described this as «constant pressure, disrespect, unfounded accusations, psychological terror and discrimination within the team in the presence of subordinates».
According to Vasyl Telpis, he subsequently decided to take leave to reflect on his future role and adapt to the new management’s requirements. However, as he claims, the chief executive, Hennadii Iziumov, refused to sign his leave application and said he would only approve it once he had submitted his resignation.
«I felt I had no other choice and was forced to sign the resignation letter,» said Vasyl Telpis.
At the same time, Vasyl Telpis stated that he had written the letter exactly as it had been dictated to him during the conversation. Later, he said, he realised that he did not want to resign, so he submitted a request to withdraw his previous letter.
«I wrote the letter exactly as they dictated it to me. Then I realised that I would not play along with them, as they had decided to ‘crush’ me, and so, in due course, I wrote a letter withdrawing my resignation. It turned out that I had been deceived, that I had submitted my resignation not of my own free will but by mutual agreement, which makes it impossible for me to be reinstated in my post,» said Vasyl Telpis.
When publishing the document, Ihor Bloshko, the anti-corruption officer at Mykolaivvodokanal, stated that these explanations were among the materials he had examined whilst investigating the reasons for the technical director’s dismissal.
Ihor Bloshko also drew attention to public statements made by the company’s management following Vasyl Telpis’s dismissal. According to him, the chair of the supervisory board, Hanna Montavon, had previously stated that the supervisory board had no involvement in the personnel decision, whilst the Chief Executive, Hennadii Iziumov, explained that the dismissal had been initiated by the supervisory board, and that a ‘mutually amicable’ agreement had allegedly been reached with Vasyl Telpis to terminate his employment by mutual consent.
Furthermore, Ihor Bloshko reported that following his complaint and a separate complaint by Vasyl Telpis to the State Labour Service of Ukraine regarding possible workplace bullying, the company’s management, he said, had not been held to account.
At the same time, he claims that these circumstances are currently featured in the case file of criminal proceedings opened under Articles 364 and 172 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
Previously, NikVesti reported that in April, the new management of Mykolaivvodokanal had dismissed the company’s technical director, Vasyl Telpis, who had worked for the water utility for over 40 years. In a comment to the publication at the time, he stated that he had handed in his resignation following a conversation with the new chief executive, Hennadii Iziumov, who, according to Vasyl Telpis, had told him that they «did not see a role for him in the organisation».
The water utility has a new head: what is known about Iziumov
At the end of January 2026, a new chief executive of the municipal enterprise «Mykolaivvodokanal» was appointed in Mykolaiv. The post was taken up by Hennadii Iziumov — the former head and chief engineer of water supply construction projects at the municipal enterprise «Mariupolvodokanal».
His appointment followed a competitive selection process in which 19 candidates took part. Prior to this, the company was headed by Borys Dudenko, who had led the water utility since 2016 and died on 15 October 2025 following a long illness.
During the selection process, Hennadii Iziumov presented a plan for his first 100 days in office, which included assessing the state of the organisation, stabilising operational processes, strengthening managerial discipline, establishing cooperation with the supervisory board and the city authorities, as well as preparing a medium-term development strategy.
Also in February, a list of performance indicators was approved for «Mykolaivvodokanal», against which the company’s performance will be assessed in future.
In April, employees of Mykolaivvodokanal drafted a petition to the Mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Sienkevych, demanding the dismissal of the newly appointed director, Hennadiy Izyumov.
