In 2026, Zaporizhzhia planned to build four underground kindergartens and four underground schools with a total cost of over a billion hryvnias. All contracts were awarded to three interrelated companies.
The list includes a company that local media called “Fedorov’s builders” (Ivan Fedorov is the head of the Zaporizhzhia region administration) and which is involved in criminal proceedings regarding alleged embezzlement during the construction of fortifications. Two others are new companies that were able to enter procurement due to the cooperation with companies from the Antimonopoly Committee’s blacklist. These companies, in turn, have connections with the former member of the Zaporizhzhia City Council Mykola Belyi.
The Suspilne investigative editorial office found out that the procurement was carried out with violations, without real competition, and with possible overpayments for construction materials.
This investigation includes many names because instead of some contractors, who were banned from participating in the procurement, others came. However, there is a connection between all of them, which we will tell you about. We will also explain how the “subcontracting” scheme works, when those who are on the Antimonopoly Committee’s blacklist bring in newly created companies without experience and without any competition.
Zaporizhzhia is building first underground kindergartens and continues to build underground schools
In April 2026, the construction of 19 underground schools was completed in Zaporizhzhia region. 13 of them have already been put into operation. The Zaporizhzhia region military administration reported this in response to the Suspilne information request.
12 of the newly constructed schools are located in Zaporizhzhia.
The head of the Zaporizhzhia region administration, Ivan Fedorov, said in early April that almost 20,000 children have the opportunity to study offline in underground institutions in Zaporizhzhia, and there are plans to open new underground educational spaces, including kindergartens.
According to him, Zaporizhzhia needs about 20 underground kindergartens. He promised to attract funding, including from international partners, to implement these plans.
The first practical steps were taken in March 2026. Then the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” concluded four contracts for the construction of underground kindergartens and four for the construction of underground schools. The total value of the contracts was 1 billion 85 million hryvnias. The construction will be financed by the European Union within the framework of the Ukraine Facility program.
Less than a month after signing the contracts, Ivan Fedorov personally inspected one of the construction sites and stated that the work was being carried out intensively, as the kindergarten was planned to be opened in September.
A “lifebuoy” for a new business from a blacklisted company
The shelter, the construction of which was demonstrated by Ivan Fedorov, is being built for the “Hrailyk” kindergarten in Shevchenkivskyi district of Zaporizhzhia. It is being built by the “Interprofservice” company, a newcomer to the Zaporizhzhia construction market. It entered public procurement in December 2025 and immediately received four contracts for the construction of protective structures for electricity transformers with a total value of over 287 million hryvnias.
All these contracts were concluded by the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service of Zaporizhzhia region with “Interprofservice” LLC directly, that is, without competitive procurement, in which other companies s could have participated, lowering the price. The details of the contracts are classified because they concern critical infrastructure facilities.
The cooperation continued in April 2026: the company received two more contracts with a total value of 126 million hryvnias for the construction of facilities, the names of which are not publicly disclosed.
“Interprofservice” LLC was registered in 2017 in the city of Dnipro. Initially, the company operated as an employment agency. Later, it refocused on pipeline construction. Judging by the financial statements available on YouControl system, the company had no income in 2019-2024. Only in 2025, shortly before participating in the procurement, its authorized capital increased from 100 hryvnias to 300 thousand. At the same time, its main activity became the construction of residential and non-residential buildings, and the place of registration was changed to Zaporizhzhia.
After the Restoration Service of Zaporizhzhia region, the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” began signing contracts with “Interprofservice”. Four contracts are worth 575 million hryvnias.
This state-owned enterprise is headed by Viktoriia Repashevska, the former head of the Department of Capital Construction and Housing and Utilities of the Melitopol City Council. She received a position in Zaporizhzhia shortly after the former mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fedorov, became the head of the regional military administration.
The first contract that Repashevska concluded with “Interprofservice” LLC on March 3, 2026, was for the construction of an anti-radiation shelter for the “Kashtan” kindergarten. No other company participated in the procurement, so “Interprofservice” received a contract worth over 126 million hryvnias, offering only 10 thousand hryvnias less than the expected cost.
On the same day, “Interprofservice” received another contract from the State Enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” for the construction of the already mentioned underground kindergarten “Hrailyk” worth 133 million hryvnias.
Both procurements were conducted in violation of public procurement legislation, the State Audit Service concluded. It drew attention, in particular, to the fact that in 2023-2024, “Interprofservice” had only one employee and did not receive income, but the customer still did not require it to provide security for the performance of the contract, for example, a bank guarantee or a deposit. According to the auditors, there is a risk that the contracts may be executed untimely because of this.
In both cases, the customer was obliged to correct the errors, publish the correct contracts, and hold those responsible accountable.
A week after the first contracts, “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” concluded two new contracts with “Interprofservice” for even larger amounts: for the construction of the Zaporizhzhia School No. 95, worth 152.8 million hryvnias, and School No. 97, worth 162.4 million hryvnias.
The State Audit Service also found a number of violations in these procurements. In particular, the auditors found that the documents of “Interprofservice” do not contain mandatory information about subcontractors and their owners, which must be disclosed under the rules of Ukraine Facility. As a result, the customer was obliged to terminate both contracts. However, the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” is in no hurry to do this. It is now appealing the auditors’ conclusions in the Zaporizhzhia District Administrative Court.
From the procurement documents of “Interprofservice”, it is clear that it does not have its own equipment. The equipment was rented shortly before submitting the application for the procurement. Five employees were also hired shortly before the procurement.
In addition, in order to compete in the procurement for the construction of anti-radiation shelters for schools and kindergartens, the company had to show that it already had experience in performing similar work.
Having such experience is one of the main requirements specified in the procurement documentation, Vladyslava Rudyka, lawyer and head of the “Transparent and Accountable Reconstruction” department of the “Mezha” anti-corruption center, said to Suspilne. According to the expert, the lack of such experience makes it impossible for an enterprise to participate in procurement.
To confirm the experience, “Interprofservice” submitted documents stating that in December 2025 it was a subcontractor of “Esko Zaporizhzhia” LLC on the construction of three underground schools in Zaporizhzhia. The company also submitted a letter of feedback from the director of “Esko Zaporizhzhia”, Yevhen Dudar, that his company has no complaints about the contractor and that it is a responsible and reliable partner. This gave “Interprofservice” the opportunity to receive construction contracts worth millions.
At the same time, “Esko Zaporizhzhia”, which had previously actively received contracts in Zaporizhzhia, in April 2025 was caught by the Antimonopoly Committee in anti-competitive concerted actions with “Company Positive” LLC, and fined 68 thousand hryvnias, which automatically means a ban on participating in procurement for three years. The company is now trying to appeal the Antimonopoly Committee’s decision in court.
“This is a typical practice when a company that was denied participation in procurement due to violations is replaced on the market by a “new” company. In such cases, there is indeed a very high risk that work under subcontracts, which confirm the presence of the necessary experience, was actually not performed and the relevant documents on experience were falsified in order to illegally win the procurement,” says lawyer Vladyslava Rudyka.
Myroslava Prymak, head of the public initiative “For a fair procurement” and journalist of the Suspilne investigative editorial, has a similar opinion:
“If we assume that a company from the Antimonopoly Committee blacklist (which is banned from participating in public procurement for three years) entered into a subcontract agreement with a new business entity so that the latter would gain “similar experience”, which is often asked to be confirmed in procurement, then this looks like a way for the first company to stay on budget contracts due to the participation of a newcomer in procurements,” comments Myroslava Prymak.
The owner of “Esko Zaporizhzhia” LLC, which helped “Interprofservice” obtain contracts, is Yevhen Dudar. He is the former owner of “Vikonda-Melitopol” LLC, which “Nashi Hroshi” watchdog linked to “Vikonda-Zaporizhzhia” LLC owned by Mykola Belyi, former member of the Zaporizhzhia City Council from the “European Solidarity” party.
We asked Yevhen Dudar to comment on his cooperation with “Interprofservice”, to explain why “Esko Zaporizhzhia” was blacklisted, and to tell about his connection to Mykola Belyi. However, he refused to answer the phone. We suggested sending him questions, and he agreed. However, after waiting for 10 days, we received no answers.
Mykola Belyi commented that his activities are not related to the management or coordination of “Esko Zaporizhzhia”:
“I inform you that I have no influence on the conduct of public procurement procedures, the determination of their winners, or the participation of any companies in the relevant procurements,” Mykola Belyi replied.
“A person needs something to eat; that is why he is probably looking for opportunities”: who is the owner of the company that receives hundreds of millions from shelter contracts linked to?
In December 2025, Zaporizhzhia resident Oleh Mykhailenko became the owner of “Interprofservice”, the winning company in the procurements for the construction of underground kindergartens and schools. This is not his only job: since 2022, Mykhailenko has also been the director of the construction company “Metallurgstroy”. This business belongs to the Odesa-based LLC “Chornomorspetsproekt”, whose owner is Oleksandr Prysiazhniuk.
Businessman Oleksandr Prysiazhniuk, together with Mariupol native Oleksii Fedorov, owns the R1 development group, which designs and builds industrial and residential facilities. According to the development group’s website, it has already built four residential complexes in Zaporizhzhia.
Oleksii Fedorov does not deny that Oleh Mykhailenko worked for companies owned by him. In particular, Mykhailenko was the chief engineer during the dismantling work at the building at 151 Sobornyi Avenue in Zaporizhzhia, which was destroyed by a Russian missile in the autumn of 2022.
The dismantling of the damaged sections of the building was financed by philanthropists. This was reported by the Zaporizhzhia City Council’s Capital Construction Department in response to the Suspilne information request. The contractor was Odesa-based “Aipimaster” LLC, one of the companies associated with businessmen Oleksandr Prysiazhniuk and Oleksii Fedorov.
“At that time, he (Mykhailenko – Ed.) was involved in this work,” comments the director of the R1 group Oleksii Fedorov. “He did it, but when it turned out that it would be work with the budget, we refused.”
He also confirmed that Mykhailenko works at the company “Metallurgstroy”. However, he denied his involvement in the activities of “Interprofservice”. He said that neither he nor Oleksandr Prysiazhniuk are among the founders of the company.
“I have absolutely no idea what he is doing now. We do not have any tasks for him in our company right now, but a person needs something to eat; that is probably why he is looking for [opportunities],” added Oleksii Fedorov.
The Suspilne investigative editorial office contacted Oleh Mykhailenko, but he refused to talk after being asked how the previously inactive company “Interprofservice” obtained contracts for the construction of protective structures for electricity transformers.
“I am sorry, but I will not say anything,” said Mykhailenko.
It should be noted that, in addition to Mykhailenko, the superintendent of “Interprofservice”, Viktor Nikitiuk, is also associated with the R1 group. He previously worked on the construction of a high-rise building for this group.
Another newly created Zaporizhzhia business, brought in by a blacklisted company
At the end of March, another new company, “Kalmius Construction Company” LLC, received two contracts from the “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” state enterprise for the construction of an underground kindergarten “Malva” worth UAH 113.9 million, and an underground school on Lotsmanska Street in Zaporizhzhia worth UAH 104.8 million. These constructions are also financed under the Ukraine Facility project.
In both procurements, the State Audit Service found a number of violations, including non-compliance of procurement documentation and contracts with the requirements of the Ukraine Facility program.
According to the monitoring results, the auditors obliged “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” to either bring the contract for the construction of a school on Lotzmanska Street into compliance with the requirements or terminate it.
In the case of “Malva”, the auditors demanded to terminate the contract. However, the state-owned enterprise decided not to terminate cooperation with the company, but to sue the auditors.
The construction company “Kalmius” was established on March 7, 2025 in Zaporizhzhia, and in two months, it received its first contract for the construction of an underground school.
As in the story with the previous new company, this was facilitated by a certificate of similar experience in subcontracting. The company stated that just three days after its establishment, it signed a contract with “Company Positive” LLC and was a subcontractor in the construction of the “Logos” underground school.
However, at the time of receiving the contract, “Kalmius”, judging by the procurement documentation, had only four employees, and they were hired just before the procurement announcement. “Kalmius” also rented the equipment just before the procurement.
We tried to find out from the owner of “Company Positive” Maksym Haidai why a newly created company was involved in the construction of the school. He did not answer the calls, as well as the questions sent in the messenger.
The owner of “Kalmius”, Danylo Sandyrev, agreed to communicate in text format. He confirmed the fact of subcontracting and stated that he had the opportunity to perform the work. At that time, according to him, the company actually had about 17 employees.
Since it was launched a year and two months, “Kalmius”, according to bi.prozorro, has received government orders totaling 2.1 billion hryvnias.
The head and owner of “Kalmius”, Danylo Sandyrev, was not previously involved in large-scale construction. Instead, he is better known as a specialist in the installation of saunas, fireplaces, and chimneys. The entrepreneur has his own website, where he still advertises his business.
When asked what prompted him to participate in public procurement for the construction of shelters in Zaporizhzhia, Danylo Sandyrev replied:
“I started my construction business by designing and building saunas, fireplaces, swimming pools, and private spas. I have experience in building reinforced concrete structures, so I decided to move on and try my hand at something else.”
The online publication 368.media linked Sandyrev to MP Serhii Minko, who was the mayor of Melitopol in 2014-2019. His deputy at that time was Ivan Fedorov, who became the mayor of Melitopol in 2020 representing the “Serhii Minko Team” party. At the same time, Minko has been a member of parliament since 2019 and is part of the “Dovira” parliamentary group.
Both Sandyrev and MP Minko denied this connection in comments to Suspilne. Both assured that they did not know each other.
“I, my family members and persons related to me have never had business interests in the city of Zaporizhzhia, have never had business interests in the construction sector, are not beneficiaries of “Kalmius Construction Company” LLC, have never had business relations with this company. I am not acquainted with Danylo Sandyrev. (...) I inform you that I know nothing about the activities of “Kalmius Construction Company” LLC, and I, my family members and persons related to me have not provided any assistance to its business activities,” MP Serhii Minko replied.
“Kalmius” is connected to Melitopol by cooperation with the “Morena SK” enterprise, from which the company, according to the documents submitted for all procurements, rents construction equipment.
“Morena SK” is a figure in the investigation of the Bureau of Economic Security into the alleged embezzlement of budget funds during the construction of fortifications in the Zaporizhzhia region. The company is one of those that, according to the law enforcement, is subordinate to Serhii Bilovol, a former member of the Melitopol City Council from the “European Solidarity” party. He is the main suspect in the case.
In a comment to the Suspilne investigative editorial office, Serhii Bilovol said that he has “business relations” with “Morena SK” and “Kalmius”.
“I have been trading in building materials for 25 years. I have a large number of counterparties. One of them is “Kalmius”, Serhii Bilovol said.
In 2015, the current head of the Zaporizhzhia region administration, Ivan Fedorov, like Serhii Bilovol, was elected a member of the Melitopol City Council from the “European Solidarity” party. Their joint photo from that time can be found on the Internet, which indicates the probable friendly relations between former party members Fedorov and Bilovol, as well as with the already mentioned MP Serhii Minko.
We asked the officials and the former city council member in the photo about their relationships and whether they affect receiving construction contracts by the mentioned companies.
Ivan Fedorov ignored the question about the nature of his relationships with Serhii Bilovol and Serhii Minko, as well as whether this contact affects the results of the procurements.
Serhii Bilovol noted in a text response that the published photo only indicates that he is familiar with Ivan Fedorov and Serhii Minko. He ignored the question about the nature of their relationships.
MP Serhii Minko, in a text response to our questions, informed that the joint photo with Fedorov and Bilovol was taken during training sessions that took place on the eve of swimming, cycling, and running competitions that he had sponsored in Melitopol for years.
“During the year, every weekend, we gathered everyone who wanted to in the Staroberdianske Forestry for morning running training. Ivan Fedorov and Serhii Bilovol, who were members of local councils, also participated in these trainings. I, my family members, and persons related to me do not maintain any business relations with the aforementioned persons,” Serhii Minko replied.
Ivan Fedorov’s builders?
LLC “Melcity” is one of the leaders in the number of construction contracts received in recent years in Zaporizhzhia. In 2026, without competition, the company received from the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” contracts for the construction of the underground kindergarten “Kalynovyi Tsvit” and the underground school on Chumachenko Street in Zaporizhzhia. The total value of the contracts is 291 million hryvnias.
In both procurements, the State Audit Service found similar violations: some of the requirements of the Ukraine Facility program were not met, and “Melcity” did not submit all the necessary documents.
According to YouControl, the “Melcity” company was registered in Melitopol in 2017. Before the full-scale invasion, it won construction procurements in the city, the most famous of which was an ice arena. As reported by the Zaporizhzhia Center for Investigations, the company allegedly continued to build an arena in the already occupied Melitopol and received money for it from the Zaporizhzhia region administration.
Since 2024, the company has been actively participating in procurements again. The total value of all construction contracts of “Melcity” in Zaporizhzhia, according to data from bi.prozorro, since 2024 has reached almost a billion hryvnias. Zaporizhzhia media named the company “Ivan Fedorov’s builders”.
In a comment to the Suspilne investigative editorial office, the head of the Zaporizhzhia region administration, Ivan Fedorov, denied any connection with “Melcity”, as well as other companies mentioned in our material.
“I have no relationship with LLC “Melcity”, LLC “Company Positive”, and LLC “Construction Company Kalmius”, including not being a beneficiary or partner of these business structures. I do not maintain business relations with the management and founders of these legal entities. In accordance with current legislation, the selection of contracting organizations is carried out not by the Zaporizhzhia region military administration, but by specially designated construction customers,” noted Ivan Fedorov.
Since 2017, the owner and director of “Melcity” has remained unchanged, Melitopol resident Volodymyr Novoseltsev. However, we have established the company’s ties with the already mentioned Serhii Bilovol. Thus, earlier in some procurements, instead of the contact number of director Novoseltsev, the company indicated the number of Olha Korolova, who in phone books, according to information from mobile number identification services, was signed as “Serhii Bilovol’s accountant”. Moreover, sometimes the company also indicated the contact number of Bilovol himself, in particular the number that appears in his business activities.
Serhii Bilovol denies that this is his number. “This is not my personal number. This is the contact of a person who worked for an outsourcing company back in Melitopol.” He did not specify whom exactly he meant.
LLC “Melcity” also appears in the same criminal case about the alleged embezzlement of budget funds for the construction of fortifications in Zaporizhzhia region as “Morena SK”. As we have already mentioned, the law enforcement established that the companies are controlled by Serhii Bilovol. One of the court decisions also mentions that due to the secret investigative (search) actions carried out in the criminal proceedings, it was established that the director of “Melcity”, that is, Volodymyr Novoseltsev, does not actually manage the company, but instead sells food and beer.
When asked in the messenger, Volodymyr Novoseltsev replied that the law enforcement assumption about his activities was incorrect:
“It is the management of “Melcity” LLC that is my main activity. The beer business was my wife’s business for a short time. I helped her develop it at the beginning,” said Volodymyr Novoseltsev.
He also denied the influence of Serhii Bilovol or Ivan Fedorov on “Melcity” activities.
Despite this denial, we found another connection between the companies mentioned in this text. The company “Esko Zaporizhzhia”, which “backed up” the newcomer “Interprofservice”, making it its contractor in 2025, received a first contract for the construction of an underground school in 2025. To prove its experience, it submitted documents to the procurement that it was a contractor for “Melcity”.
The head of “Melcity” Volodymyr Novoseltsev explains such cooperation by the staff shortage. “We held negotiations and, having a shortage of qualified workers, as well as a short deadline for the work, hired the above-mentioned company as a subcontractor,” he explained.
Concrete with a markup: millions in overpayments for underground schools and kindergartens
The journalists from the Suspilne investigative editorial office, together with Alyona Yashchuk, a specialist in public procurement monitoring at the DOZORRO TI Ukraine project, analyzed the annexes to the contracts for the construction of underground schools and kindergartens. We found the largest potential overpayments, approximately 4 to 5 million hryvnias, in all four contracts that the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” signed with the new company LLC “Interprofservice”. In total, the amount of possible overpayments under these contracts could reach about 19 million hryvnias.
During the analysis, we compared prices for materials available in Zaporizhzhia region, as well as in neighboring regions, including VAT. For each item, we took at least three-four offers from different sellers for comparison and determined the average price on the market.
Here are the most striking examples of potential overpayments. Most often, overpricing concerns concrete mixtures. For example, the “Interprofservice” company included concrete of class C25/30 in the construction estimate for the Zaporizhzhia School No. 97 at 4,410 hryvnias per cubic meter. At the same time, similar material on the market costs from 3,100 to 4,000 hryvnias. Only in this position, the potential overpayment can amount to almost 2.7 million hryvnias.
We did not receive the “Interprofservice” comment regarding the inflated prices in the estimates, because the head of the company, Oleh Mykhailenko, refused to communicate with Suspilne.
We have also recorded possible overpayments in the work of other contractors. We found 4.1 million hryvnias of potential overpayments on the construction of underground school No. 6, which is being built by “Melcity” LLC. For example, the company included in the estimate concrete of class C25/30 at 4,500 hryvnias per cubic meter. At the same time, the market price for this material is 3,100 – 4,000 hryvnias. The potential overpayment for this material alone could amount to over 2.5 million hryvnias.
When asked to justify this cost of concrete, the head and owner of Melcity, Volodymyr Novoseltsev, replied that the price was the average market price in the region at that time.
The estimates of “Kalmius Construction Company” LLC also include potential overpayments. For example, “Kalmius Construction Company” plans to build the underground kindergarten “Malva” using concrete of class C30/35 at 4,800 UAH per cubic meter. However, it costs less on the market – from 3,200 to 4,200 UAH. Therefore, the potential overpayment for such concrete alone could amount to 1.4 million UAH.
Responding to a request regarding the cost of concrete in the estimates, the owner and director of LLC “Kalmius”, Danylo Sandyrev, limited himself to a brief comment. According to him, the prices for concrete mixtures correspond to the average market indicators in the region.
Public procurement monitoring specialist of the DOZORRO TI Ukraine project Alyona Yashchuk notes that the negotiated price in all contracts is dynamic.
“This means that the initial indicators recorded at the stage of concluding the contract are not final and may change during the execution of the work. The practice of implementing contracts by this customer indicates the possible application of adjustments, including towards reducing the cost of individual items,” the expert notes.
In addition, according to the expert, most estimates do not clearly separate transportation and procurement-warehousing costs. Under such conditions, there is a possibility that they are included in the cost of material resources, which may affect their final price.
After identifying potential overpayments, DOZORRO TI Ukraine sought explanations from the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region”. In response, the company stated that it analyzes prices according to the methodology stipulated by the Cabinet of Ministers resolution and the new guidelines on the procedure for conducting price analysis, taking into account not only the cost of materials, but also delivery, technical specifications, and other costs. The company also noted that comparing prices only with offers on the Internet might be incorrect, since they may not take into account all components of the cost.
“Formation of a new practice”: the position of the state enterprise regarding the identified violations and the possible impact on it
At the same time, Suspilne sent an information request to the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” regarding the violations identified by the State Audit Service.
In its response, the enterprise noted that it does not recognize the violations and is appealing some of the auditors’ conclusions in court, considering them “ungrounded and adopted beyond the scope of the powers”.
In addition, the state enterprise “Local roads of Zaporizhzhia region” claims that the procurement offers of “Interprofservice” met the requirements of the documentation, and the lack of a significant number of employees or the company’s low financial performance are not grounds for rejecting the participant, since the law allows the involvement of subcontractors. The state enterprise called the discrepancies identified by the State Audit Service in the documents of “Melcity” LLC “not significant” and claimed that they did not affect the procurement results.
However, in some cases, the state enterprise partially agreed with the auditors. In its response, the company reported that it had analyzed the comments and made amendments to the contracts (in particular, regarding the objects “Kashtan”, “Hrailyk” and “Kalynovyi Tsvit”).
At the same time, the state enterprise did not report on holding company’s officials accountable, as demanded by the State Audit Service, noting that most of the auditors’ comments were only “different interpretations of certain provisions of the legislation”.
The state enterprise explained repeated violations in procurements with Ukraine Facility funds by the conditions of martial law, tight deadlines for project implementation, and the “formation of a new practice” of applying the requirements of the international program.
Regarding the possible influence of Ivan Fedorov, Mykola Belyi, Serhii Minko, or persons associated with them on the procurement results, the state enterprise responded:
“During the procurement procedures, the enterprise was guided exclusively by the requirements of the legislation in the field of public procurement, the principles of openness, fair competition and non-discrimination of participants [...]. Any allegations of possible informal connections or coordination of actions between procurement participants are not confirmed by decisions of competent authorities or a court that have entered into legal force.”
We did not find real competition in this year’s procurements for the construction of underground schools and kindergartens in Zaporizhzhia. Three companies, among which there are connections through subcontracts, joint business partners and the entourage of local politicians and businessmen, received more than a billion hryvnias. Two of these firms entered the public procurement market only recently, and the third is involved in criminal proceedings regarding alleged abuses during the construction of fortifications.
Despite the fact that all those involved deny any influence on the procurement results, the totality of the established facts – from the lack of competition and violations identified by auditors to connections between market participants – puts into question the transparency of the distribution of contracts for the construction of facilities financed by international partners and from the budget.
The article was written as part of the Institute for War & Peace Reporting (IWPR) project “Strengthening Public Oversight” with financial support from Norway. The content of this publication is solely the responsibility of the National Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine. This material can in no way be considered to reflect the position of IWPR or the Government of Norway.
