UAH 600 million of public funds: what was found in tenders for school shelters

Who made hundreds of millions from schools and shelters in the Mykolaiv region?

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28 Aug 2026

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In the Mykolaiv region, a number of construction companies linked to each other and, according to a journalistic investigation, to relatives and close associates of the head of the Voznesensk District State Administration, Oleksandr Kukuruza, received state contracts totaling more than UAH 600 million. The projects include school shelters, hospitals and other social infrastructure in the Voznesensk and Pervomaiskyi districts. Nikcenter journalists found possible multimillion overpayments in the estimates, low competition in tenders and inconsistencies in contractors’ documents. On 28 August 2026 the topic was revisited by “MykVisti”. The Nikcenter investigation itself was published on 31 July 2025.

One of the central figures in the investigation was LLC “First Ukrainian Construction”. According to Nikcenter’s calculations, the company received contracts in the Voznesensk district worth approximately UAH 230 million, even though it is registered in Kyiv, and its production facilities, according to tender documents, were located in Pervomaisk.

A relative of the official and UAH 230 million in contracts

The first large tenders for “First Ukrainian Construction” began to be won after the company was re-registered in 2023 to realtor from Chornomorsk, Serhii Tkachenko. Journalists established that the wife of Serhii Tkachenko, Mariia Tkachenko, and the wife of Oleksandr Kukuruza, Halyna Hura, are sisters. According to Nikcenter, the sisters together with their parents also run a joint business.

At the same time, it was in the estimates of “First Ukrainian Construction” that journalists found significant inflation of certain prices. For one project Nikcenter estimated a possible overpayment for building materials of roughly UAH 8 million. In some line items the difference from market prices, according to the investigators, reached tens of times.

Journalists asked Serhii Tkachenko whether Oleksandr Kukuruza had helped his company obtain public contracts. The entrepreneur ultimately declined to discuss the tenders in detail and said he was not aware of any such assistance.

It is worth noting that the owner of “First Ukrainian Construction” later changed. In a Korabelov.info piece dated 9 March 2026, the owner of the company was listed as Mykola Dekhtyarenko. At that time the Antimonopoly Committee opened a separate case into possible collusion between “First Ukrainian Construction” and “Hospodar-2” during another procurement.

Another UAH 124 million – to companies of a man linked to Kukuruza

Another part of the investigation concerns the entrepreneur from Pervomaisk, Volodymyr Podolyan. According to Nikcenter, during the full-scale war he established immediately four companies that since 2023 received contracts in the Mykolaiv region for almost UAH 124 million. Orders included repairs of schools, hospitals and shelters.

Volodymyr Podolyan was a party colleague of Oleksandr Kukuruza, took part with him in events during the election campaign, and in 2020 made a contribution to the election fund of the Mykolaiv branch of the party “Our Land”. Nikcenter also noted that in phone contact databases his number was saved by other users, among other labels, as “Kukuruza’s driver” and “Kukuruza’s aide”. This is an additional sign of a possible connection, but by itself does not prove business or financial relations.

Another large contractor is LLC “Hospodar-2”, whose owner journalists named as Pervomaisk resident Petro Pestov. Over four years the company won tenders totaling more than UAH 235 million. The entrepreneur’s wife, Yuliia Pestova, also founded her own company “Komunbudtekhservis-1”, which, without prior tender experience, received a contract from the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration for construction of an outpatient clinic for UAH 7.5 million.

Nikcenter claims that the Pestov family maintained personal ties with the family of Oleksandr Kukuruza. In addition, some companies rented equipment from PJSC “Pervomaiska MPMK”, the controlling stake of which, according to journalists, belonged to Oleksandr Kukuruza.

Petro Pestov told Nikcenter that Oleksandr Kukuruza did not help him obtain public contracts.

“Of course I know who Oleksandr Kukuruza is – a regional council deputy. We have no business ties. Unfortunately, or fortunately, he does not help (with obtaining public contracts). Regarding tender documents and prices, there is a task (from the customer), there is an amount. And we, according to that task, submit our proposal. Then it either fits or it doesn’t.”

Of UAH 1.439 billion, half went to only five contractors

To assess the market scale, Nikcenter analyzed procurements for construction and repair works in the Voznesensk and Pervomaiskyi districts in 2022–2025. The sample included procurements with an expected value of at least UAH 50,000, excluding road and street repairs.

In Prozorro journalists found 1,608 contracts with a total expected value of UAH 1,439,000,000. Of the 25 largest deals, immediately 10 concerned construction or major overhaul of large school shelters.

About half of this market was captured by only five contractors: “Hospodar-2”, “Demsey”, “Holnest”, “First Ukrainian Construction” and “Ukrbudservice & Co.”. According to Nikcenter, three companies from this quintet are linked to the circle of friends or relatives of Oleksandr Kukuruza.

Competition was extremely low. Only in 9% of the analyzed procurements did more than one participant appear, and 78% of contracts were concluded without using the electronic system at all. Even among the 25 largest tenders worth over UAH 10 million, in only five cases were there at least two participants.

Problems also arose with deadlines. Of the 25 largest contracts 18 were to be completed by August 2025, but within the set deadlines and fully, by journalists’ calculations, only one was completed.

Collusion in bids already confirmed by the Antimonopoly Committee

Some of the links between contractors have not only journalistic but also official confirmation. On 28 May 2025 the Southern Interregional Territorial Department of the Antimonopoly Committee established collusion between LLC “Hospodar-2” and LLC VBK “Alpha” during bids that took place in 2023–2024.

The Antimonopoly Committee recognized their actions as anti-competitive coordinated actions that distorted the results of the tenders. Both companies were fined a total of UAH 272,000. The law also provides for excluding such participants from public procurement for three years after being held accountable for tender collusion.

Documents for multimillion tenders were submitted in 11–30 minutes

Another detail journalists paid attention to was the speed with which certain firms responded to the appearance of large procurements.

For example, an announcement for the construction of a radiation shelter for the Prybuzkyi Lyceum for about UAH 50 million was posted in Prozorro on 2 July 2024 at 21:25. Already at 21:55, i.e. within 30 minutes, Serhii Tkachenko submitted documents on behalf of “First Ukrainian Construction”.

“Hospodar-2” needed only 11 minutes to respond to the tender for the shelter at Bohdanivskyi Lyceum for UAH 47 million, while “Holnest” took 15 minutes to submit documents for the construction of the shelter at Arbuzynskyi Lyceum No. 2. In total Nikcenter found 9 large procurements with similar rapid submission times. In all these cases there was ultimately only one participant, who received the contract.

Equipment was rented from a firm 60% of which belonged to a Russian citizen

Nikcenter also drew attention to LLC “Electrozvyazokmontazh”, from which some contractors rented construction equipment. According to YouControl data cited by the journalists, 60% of the company belonged to Valeriy Vorobyov, who was listed as a citizen of the Russian Federation registered in Moscow.

Thus companies receiving public funds to build protective shelters for Ukrainian schoolchildren during Russian aggression simultaneously used the services of an enterprise with a Russian co-owner. The mere fact of such ownership is not automatic proof of a criminal offense, but journalists called this circumstance one that requires attention.

Rebar at UAH 50,000, concrete – up to UAH 5,738 per m³

The estimates of “First Ukrainian Construction” and “Holnest” raised the most questions for journalists.

For the Prybuzkyi Lyceum shelter one tonne of A-III rebar 18 mm diameter in the documents of “First Ukrainian Construction” cost UAH 48,828 with VAT. “Holnest” in Arbuzynka listed UAH 46,620, while “Hospodar-2” for the Bohdanivskyi Lyceum – UAH 39,900. According to DOZORRO, at the same time market offers from major suppliers were roughly in the range of UAH 31,864–33,500 per tonne.

For the shelter at Lyceum No. 4 in Pivdennoukrainsk, “First Ukrainian Construction” budgeted rebar at UAH 46,958.58–50,310.18 per tonne. At the same time suppliers’ offers cited by monitoring services were approximately from UAH 31,849 to 37,920.

Heavy concrete B25 (M350) for the Prybuzkyi Lyceum was priced by the contractor at UAH 5,738 per cubic meter, for the Pivdennoukrainsk project – at UAH 4,906, and “Holnest” for the Arbuzynskyi Lyceum – at UAH 5,152. By comparison, another contractor in Vradiivka listed such concrete in the estimate at UAH 3,780 per cubic meter, and DOZORRO market prices cited were approximately UAH 3,340–3,774.

According to Nikcenter’s calculations, just on rebar and concrete the potential overpayment in the estimates of “First Ukrainian Construction” and “Holnest” could exceed UAH 15 million. This is the journalists’ estimate based on comparing estimate and market prices, not a court-determined amount of losses.

What Oleksandr Kukuruza responded

The head of the Voznesensk District State Administration, Oleksandr Kukuruza, in a conversation with Nikcenter did not deny that some company owners are his acquaintances and relatives, but said he had no relation to the activities of these enterprises. Regarding the cost of materials, the official pointed to the state expertise.

“I founded several companies, I am a professional manager and I gave advice to certain people on how to create and organize businesses and work… If people or companies are capable of carrying out the work, then they carry it out.

I am not the director of any of these companies. If I know these people (the company owners – Ed.), does that mean they are forbidden to work? I have no relation to these companies. I have been in the position (head of the Voznesensk RDA) for only two months.

And regarding price efficiency, there is a state expertise that evaluates the prices submitted by the designer.”

Meanwhile in March 2026 the story continued: the Antimonopoly Committee began considering a case of possible collusion in a tender between “Hospodar-2” and “First Ukrainian Construction”, which journalists had previously linked to the circle of companies associated with Oleksandr Kukuruza. The case concerned the procurement of the capital repair of Lyceum No. 2 in Pivdennoukrainsk. A review of the case does not mean the companies’ guilt has been established.