In Zaporizhzhia, affiliated companies were awarded contracts for underground schools
This year, Zaporizhzhia plans to build four underground schools and four kindergartens at a cost of over one billion hryvnias, funded by the EU. According to media reports, all construction contracts were awarded to interconnected companies with ties to one another, raising questions about the transparency of funding allocation and procurement procedures.
This is reported by "Nashi Hroshi."
Four underground schools and four kindergartens costing over one billion hryvnias in Zaporizhzhia will be built with EU funding under the Ukraine Facility program, the website notes, citing information from the investigative unit of “Suspilne.”
"All contracts were awarded to three interconnected companies. Among them is a firm that local media have called 'Fedorov’s builders' and which is implicated in criminal proceedings regarding alleged embezzlement during the construction of fortifications," writes "Nashi Hroshi."
Fedorov was previously the mayor of Melitopol and now heads the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.
Two other newcomer companies were able to enter the tenders thanks to their collaboration with firms on the Antimonopoly Committee’s blacklist. These firms, in turn, have ties to the inner circle of former Zaporizhzhia City Council deputy Mykola Belyi.
The shelter for the "Hraylik" kindergarten is being built by the company "Interprofservice," which had virtually no presence in the construction market until 2025. The company had no revenue between 2019 and 2024.
In total, this firm received contracts worth 575 million UAH from the state-owned enterprise “Local Roads of Zaporizhzhia Region,” which is under the jurisdiction of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration. It is headed by Viktoria Repashevska, the former head of the Department of Capital Construction and Housing and Communal Services of the Melitopol City Council.
Interprofservice received its first contract in March 2026 for a kindergarten shelter worth 126 million UAH. There were no competitors in the tender, and the price was reduced by only 10,000 UAH. On the same day, the company received another contract for a kindergarten worth 133 million UAH, and two more contracts a week later.
"The State Audit Service identified violations in these procurements: the company did not disclose information about subcontractors and their owners, as required by the Ukraine Facility program. Auditors demanded that the contracts be terminated, but the contracting authority is challenging this in court," the statement reads.
The tender documents show that the company did not have its own equipment and hired employees immediately prior to the procurements.
In 2025, the AMCU found "Esco Zaporizhzhia" to be a participant in a bid-rigging scheme with "Company Positive" LLC, fined the company, and banned it from participating in tenders for three years. The decision is currently being challenged in court.
The owner of "Esco Zaporizhzhia," Yevhen Dudar, previously owned "Vikonda-Melitopol" LLC, which was linked to "Vikonda-Zaporizhzhia" LLC, owned by Mykola Belyi, a former Zaporizhzhia City Council member from the "European Solidarity" party.
In late March, “Kalmius Construction Company” received two contracts from the state-owned enterprise “Local Roads of Zaporizhzhia Region” for the construction of underground shelters in Zaporizhzhia: a kindergarten for 113.9 million UAH and a school for 104.8 million UAH. Both projects are funded by the EU under the Ukraine Facility program.
"Kalmius" was established on March 7, 2025, in Zaporizhzhia, but within just two months, it received its first contract to build an underground school.
As with the previous newcomer company, this was facilitated by a certificate of prior experience in subcontracting. The firm stated that just three days after its establishment, it signed a contract with Kompaniya Pozitiv LLC and served as a subcontractor on the construction of the Logos underground lyceum.
At the same time, according to the tender documentation, at the time the contract was awarded, “Kalmius” had only four employees, who were hired literally just before the procurement. The company also rented construction equipment on the eve of the tender.
Journalists attempted to ask Maksym Haidai, the owner of “Positive Company,” why a newly established firm was brought in for the shelter’s construction. However, he did not respond to either calls or messages.
Instead, the owner of “Kalmius,” Danilo Sandirev, confirmed the subcontracting and stated that the company had sufficient resources for the work. According to him, the firm actually employed about 17 people at the time.
Sandirev himself was not previously known in the large-scale construction industry. Prior to this, he was involved in the installation of saunas, fireplaces, and chimneys and still advertises this business on his own website. At the same time, the publication 368.media linked Sandirev to People’s Deputy Serhiy Minko. From 2014 to 2019, Minko served as mayor of Melitopol, and the current head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration was his deputy at the time.
Kalmius is also linked to Melitopol through its cooperation with the company Morena SK, from which the firm leases construction equipment. Morena SK is implicated in an investigation by the Economic Security Bureau regarding the possible embezzlement of budget funds during the construction of fortifications in Zaporizhzhia.
According to law enforcement, this company is controlled by Serhiy Bilovol, a former member of the Melitopol City Council, who is the main suspect in the case.
Despite its short history, in just one year and two months, "Kalmius" has already received government contracts worth 2.1 billion hryvnias, according to bi.prozorro.
Melsiti LLC is one of the main recipients of construction contracts in Zaporizhzhia in recent years. In 2026 alone, the company received contracts from the state-owned enterprise “Local Roads of Zaporizhzhia Region” without competition for the construction of an underground kindergarten and a school with a total value of 291 million hryvnias. Both projects are funded by the EU.
The company was registered in Melitopol back in 2017. Prior to the full-scale invasion, it actively won construction tenders, including one for the construction of an ice arena.
Since 2024, "Melsiti" has once again been actively participating in tenders. According to bi.prozorro, the company has secured contracts worth nearly one billion hryvnias since then.
"Zaporizhzhia media referred to the firm as 'Ivan Fedorov’s builders.' The head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional State Administration himself denied any ties to the company in a comment to Suspilne," the report states.
Formally, the owner and director of "Melsiti" since 2017 has been Volodymyr Novoseltsev of Melitopol. However, journalists found links between the company and former Melitopol City Council deputy Serhiy Bilovol.
In some of Melsiti’s procurement documents, the company listed not Novoseltsev’s contact information, but the number of Olga Korolyova, who was listed in phone directories as “Serhiy Bilovol’s accountant.” In addition, the company sometimes listed Bilovol’s own number, though he claims the contact belonged to someone who worked “on an outsourcing basis.”
"Melsiti" is also involved in criminal proceedings regarding the possible embezzlement of budget funds during the construction of fortifications in the Zaporizhzhia region. The company "Morena SK" is also mentioned in this same case. According to law enforcement, both entities are controlled by Serhiy Bilovol.
"Esco Zaporizhzhia," which "backed up" the newcomer "Interprofservice" by making it its subcontractor in 2025, itself received its first contract for the construction of an underground school in 2025," writes "Nashi Hroshi."
To demonstrate its experience for the tender, it submitted documents stating that it had been a contractor for "Melsiti." Novoseltsev himself explained this collaboration as a result of a "staff shortage" and a lack of qualified workers.
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