Contractor took 6 million and failed to shelter lyceum in Odesa region

In the Odesa region, the repair of a shelter at a lyceum has been delayed for more than two years, even though the contractor received almost UAH 6 million from the budget. The court granted investigators access to documents to check the actual work performed and find out where the money went.

This is stated in the ruling of the Berezovsky District Court of Odesa Oblast.

In Berezovsky district, criminal proceedings were initiated due to the failure to overhaul the shelter at the local lyceum. During air raids, children are forced to stay outside, even though almost 6 million hryvnias were allocated for the repairs.

The story began in August 2023. At that time, the Department of Capital Construction and Roads of the Odesa Regional State Administration and the contractor signed a contract for major repairs and arrangement of the lyceum's basement as a shelter. According to the investigation, the total amount of the contract was UAH 5,814,998, of which UAH 5.1 million came from the state budget and the remaining UAH 704,998 from the local budget.

The work schedule was set from August to December 2023. At the initial stage, the contractor received several tranches:

• October 2023 - over UAH 1 million;
• November 2023 - over UAH 1.2 million;
• June 2024 - almost half a million hryvnias.

However, in January 2024, the work was suspended for unknown reasons. Despite repeated appeals from local authorities and the community to speed up the work, the shelter has not yet been put into operation.

As a result, in April 2025, law enforcement officers entered information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations on the grounds of a criminal offense - failure to perform work, which is punishable under Article 358(3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.

The court granted the investigators temporary access to the documents required for the construction and technical expertise. If the contractor does not provide the documents voluntarily, law enforcement officers have the right to conduct a search to seize them.

Also in Odesa region, law enforcement officers are checking the contract for the construction of a shelter at the Isayev Agricultural Lyceum. The work was awarded without competition to a company associated with a member of the district council. The contract for more than 17 million went to the Odesa-based company Southern Ukrainian Construction Company, which until June 2025 belonged to the wife of a member of the Berezivka District Council and was headed by the deputy himself.

Анна Бальчінос