19.06.2025

Minister Kuleba and the failed policy of the Ministry of Infrastructure in the context of war

Олексій Кулеба очолить Мінвідновлення - що про нього відомо | РБК-Україна

Residents of Mykolaiv have been without drinking water for years, residents of Borodyanka are waiting for their destroyed homes to be rebuilt, roads in Kharkiv region are not being repaired, and the railway infrastructure is falling into disrepair. At the same time, billions of hryvnias are sinking into the pockets of corrupt officials who are enriching themselves through dubious tenders and fictitious work. The Ministry of Infrastructure, headed by Oleksiy Kuleba, and the services and state agencies under his control allow these schemes to flourish, ignoring blatant violations. It’s not the right time.

Mykolaiv and the water supply system: crisis as a source of profit

After the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in June 2023, Mykolaiv was left without stable access to drinking water. Residents are forced to buy bottled water or use water distribution points. To solve the problem, the Mykolaiv Oblast Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service ordered the construction of a water intake from the Southern Bug River and a water main worth UAH 7.44 billion. However, in September 2024, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal announced a new figure of UAH 8.8 billion, despite promises by the head of the Mykolaiv Regional Water Authority, Vitaliy Kim, to optimize the budget to UAH 3 billion.

The contracts were distributed among three companies without open tenders, which raises serious questions about transparency:

  • Ukrtransmost LLC – UAH 2.53 billion. The company is involved in criminal proceedings for embezzlement of budget funds for road infrastructure in Kyiv.
  • Rostdorstroy LLC – UAH 2.63 billion. The company is affiliated with Odesa Mayor Gennadiy Trukhanov’s party “Trust the Deeds”. The beneficiaries are MP Yuriy Shumacher and businessman Yevhen Konovalov. The company is under investigation for tax evasion.
  • Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC – UAH 320 million for the Ingulets – Pivdenne Reservoir water pipeline for Kryvyi Rih. The company, known for road construction, received contracts worth UAH 25.3 billion in 2023 and UAH 640 million in 2024, but is also involved in criminal cases of embezzlement.

Thus, Mykolaiv residents suffer without water, and budget billions end up in the pockets of companies with criminal records. The absence of open tenders only confirms the systemic nature of the problem.

Road repairs in the occupied territories: a scheme in Kharkiv region

A large-scale scheme to divert budget funds through fictitious tenders for road repairs is being developed in the Kharkiv region, where military operations are ongoing. The State Enterprise “Roads of Kharkiv Region” and a number of contractors, including Eurobud Plus LLC, Slavdorstroy LLC, Rostdorstroy LLC, and Avtomagistral-Pivden LLC, have organized a system where funds are allocated for work that cannot be performed due to the occupation or hostilities.

Through manipulations in the ProZorro system, companies win tenders with inflated prices, but the work is not performed. Funds are withdrawn through fictitious companies or offshore companies. Checks have shown that many of the facilities are located in the occupied territories or in the war zones.

In total, the schemes misappropriated:

  • UAH 1.28 billion – on inflated prices and fictitious works.
  • UAH 600 million was transferred to shell companies.
  • UAH 200 million was spent on roads in the occupied or frontline areas.

Reconstruction of Kyiv region: tenders for the OPFL and people close to the authorities

Following the large-scale destruction in Kyiv region caused by the war, billions of hryvnias have been allocated to rebuild the region. However, much of this money ends up in the hands of companies affiliated with politicians, including representatives of the OPFL, and people close to the government. Borodyanka is at the center of the scandal, where the restoration work is being delayed and tenders are being distributed among “cronies.”

For example, companies associated with the former mayor of Irpin and leader of the New Faces party, Volodymyr Karpliuk, such as Bild Life Investment and Construction Company, Veterans of Ukraine Construction Group, and Aston Lux, received contracts worth over UAH 500 million to restore Borodyanka’s infrastructure. However, no work has been started on the projects, which may be due to Karpliuk’s political influence in the region.

In addition, Navitechservice received UAH 8 million for major repairs in Borodyanka. Since 2022, the firm registered in Kharkiv has received contracts worth UAH 11 million, and in 2023 – UAH 87 million. Interestingly, until 2023, the company was engaged in the supply of goods, and then abruptly retrained for construction. There are suspicions that Denys Komarnitsky, who is called the “watchdog” of Kyiv’s construction industry, is involved in the company, although he denies any involvement.

 

Yuriy Golyk: shadow curator of the Big Construction

Yuriy Golyk is an ideologue of the Big Construction and a former advisor to the head of the Dnipro Regional State Administration, Valentyn Reznichenko. Although he does not officially hold public office, he is called a “curator” of infrastructure projects.

Golyk worked closely with Reznichenko, promoting infrastructure and budget policy projects. That is why during the implementation of the Big Construction program in the Dnipro region, Budinvest Engineering LLC received multibillion-dollar tenders for road construction. The company’s co-owner, Yana Khlanta, had personal ties to Reznichenko, which provided the company with advantages. In 2023, the firm received UAH 1.5 billion in three months for “mobile road repairs” in Dnipro.

Budinvest’s subcontractors (BNM LLC, DZMK LLC, Maxi-Bud Plus LLC) do not purchase materials in the declared volumes, which indicates non-commodity transactions.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko: a lobbyist for the “right” companies

Kyrylo Tymoshenko is an ex-executor of the “Big Construction” who, together with Yuriy Holyk, lobbied for companies that received state contracts with violations.

Tymoshenko promoted companies that received contracts with inflated estimates, among others:

Dorstroy PE signed contracts for:

    • UAH 430 million with the State Enterprise “Service of Local Roads in Cherkasy Region”;
    • UAH 324 million with the Department of Architecture of Cherkasy City Council;
    • UAH 209 million with Haysyn City Council.
  • TIRAS and NOVEM Logistic LLC also received contracts under similar schemes.

And all of this with the tacit consent of the Ministry of Infrastructure, which allowed billions of budget dollars to be allocated to the “right” companies without receiving quality road surfaces in return.

Ukrzaliznytsia: rail scheme worth UAH 500 million

In 2025, the Production Support Center branch of Ukrzaliznytsia JSC held a tender for the purchase of railway equipment worth more than UAH 500 million. The winner was DnSZ JSC, which received contracts worth UAH 420 million.

At the same time, the tender documentation (286 pages) was excessively complex, and the deadline for submitting proposals was only 10 days, which made it impossible for competitors to participate. The requirements for equipment (for example, P50 rails with OR50 points) were met by only one supplier, which is not produced by any certified supplier. In addition, the cost of certain items was also overestimated: P50 crossbars cost UAH 184 thousand, while the market price was UAH 120-150 thousand. The expected cost increased by 8% despite the decline in global steel prices.

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