In the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, cooperation with the occupiers is often not only a matter of survival but also a conscious choice that can provide certain “bonuses” and create an illusion of success. This is especially evident among the so-called new elite being formed under the auspices of the Russian administration.
One of the representatives of such an elite and an ambassador of the “Russian world” became a citizen of Ukraine, a 24-year-old resident of Henichesk, who modestly calls herself on social networks “Miss Kherson Oblast”.
Who she is, how she is connected to local collaborators and the occupation authorities and which path she chose while living under the Russian tricolor — we explain in this piece.
As MOST journalists managed to find out, the self-proclaimed Miss Kherson Oblast is named Kateryna Popovchuk.
In November 2022, while the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was ongoing on the right bank and there was a week left before the liberation of Kherson, Kateryna Popovchuk stood modestly next to the traitor Volodymyr Saldo, holding a bag resembling a Christian Dior. That day they celebrated in Henichesk, where they fled from Kherson, the Russian “Day of National Unity”.
At that time almost no one knew about Kateryna until she started a TikTok and posted a video where she described how her day goes.
The funniest moment in the video, which drew attention to Kateryna’s account, was the bow to Saldo’s portrait. The blogger showed that before having breakfast she bows to the so-called governor, whose poster the occupation authorities hung on one of the streets of temporarily occupied Henichesk.
Kateryna Popovchuk was born in Henichesk and is a citizen of Ukraine. Her family is quite well-known in the city, since Kateryna’s father – a deputy of the Henichesk city council from OPZZh and former director of the Azov-Syvash National Nature Park – is Yevheniy Popovchuk.
In 2021 he submitted declaration, where he also listed family members: his wife – Maryna Puliaeva, and daughter – Kateryna.
Popovchuk himself, even before the full-scale invasion, was involved in a scandal. According to law enforcement, in 2019 his official negligence led to losses of 726 thousand hryvnias due to unauthorized hay cutting on the reserve islands Biryuchyi, Kuyuk-Tuyuk and Churyuk.
After February 2022 Popovchuk began cooperating with the occupation authorities and again became director of the Azov-Syvash National Nature Park, which the occupation authorities re-registered under Russian law, and even helped the Russians loot the dacha of the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyi on Biryuchyi Island.
In 2023 Popovchuk was elected to the illegal local council in Henichesk from the party “United Russia” and continues to work for the Russians, for which he received from Ukrainian law enforcement a suspicion of collaborationism, official negligence and participation in conducting illegal elections.
The mother of Miss Kherson and wife of Yevheniy Popovchuk – Maryna Puliaeva. Before the full-scale war she was registered as a sole proprietor and had her own beauty salon in Henichesk. In August 2022 she closed the Ukrainian sole proprietorship and a few months later registered as a private entrepreneur under Russian law.
In 2023 she, together with her husband, became a pseudo-deputy. By the way, Puliaeva has not yet been accused.
Overall, the family of Yevheniy Popovchuk and Maryna Puliaeva has quite a wide range of interests. For example, this is evidenced by a photo their daughter posted on Instagram.
In it you can see that they have at home a painting by Ilya Repin “The Zaporozhtsy”, better known as “The Zaporozhians write a letter to the Turkish sultan”, under which hangs a family photo taken on Moscow’s Red Square.
But let’s return to Kateryna Popovchuk.
In August 2022 she received a Russian passport and since then has been an ardent patriot of Russia and actively works for the occupation authorities.
For example, in February 2023 she attended a concert of the Russian singer Shaman in Henichesk.
By the way, this year Yaroslav Dronov, which is Shaman’s real name, received from the SBU a suspicion of justifying the armed aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
In that same February Popovchuk became the owner of a 2012 Mercedes-Benz C 180 CGI worth about $30,000, and later registered the organization “Lapka”, which helps homeless animals.
Also, using her parents’ connections, she worked for some time as the head of the environmental education department of the so-called Ministry of Natural Resources of Kherson Oblast.
She even took part in themed events organized by the Russian authorities, where she led a delegation from the pseudo-ministry.
She also worked as the head of a department in the occupation Ministry of Natural Resources, Ecology and Fisheries.
However, Miss Kherson Oblast did not stay there long and left. Currently occupation media present her precisely as the head of the organization “Lapka”. Her phone number is listed as the contact in the advertisements of this organization on social networks.
Overall, judging by social networks where Popovchuk tries to create an illusion of a luxurious life, the girl practically does nothing except shooting propaganda clips, going to restaurants and constantly reminding that she is “Miss Kherson Oblast”.
Although there is a gap even in the latter, because we could not find information online that Popovchuk won a beauty contest, or at least that such a contest was held on the left bank of Kherson Oblast.
So, most likely, Popovchuk simply invented this title to attract attention to her account.
But despite Kateryna Popovchuk’s efforts, her lifestyle and content were not appreciated even by local propagandists, who criticized the same morning routine video of the self-proclaimed Miss.
