Head of Izmail Water Management Department found guilty of negligence

A case is being investigated in Izmail over alleged negligence by the head of the local water management department, which, according to investigators, resulted in hundreds of thousands of hryvnias in budget losses. Despite the suspicion of causing damage to the state, the court did not suspend the official.

This is evidenced by the ruling of the Izmail City District Court of Odesa Oblast.

According to the pre-trial investigation, in October 2021, the head of the Izmail Water Management Department improperly performed his official duties while in office. The investigation believes that the official acted in violation of public procurement legislation and the terms of the concluded contracts, failed to ensure the efficient use of budget funds and allowed their unjustified spending.

According to , the Izmail Water Management Department is headed by Panas Zhechkov. Also, according to the official's declaration, he has held the position since 2019.

One of the episodes concerns the purchase of coal. The official signed an additional agreement with Raff Oil LLC, which significantly changed the terms of the contract. Thus, the supply volume was reduced by more than half - by 111.25 tons. At the same time, the price per unit was increased by almost 98%.

At the same time, investigators found that there were no proper documents to justify such a price increase. As a result, the company was unjustifiably transferred more than UAH 449 thousand of budget funds, which is considered to be damages.

Another set of violations related to the purchase of electricity for almost UAH 4 million. After the tender was held and the contract was concluded, the price of electricity was increased several times by additional agreements: first by almost 10%, and later by more than 16%.

At the same time, the total amount of the contract did not change, which led to a decrease in the actual amount of electricity supplied.

The investigation is also looking into the purchase of gasoline and diesel fuel. After concluding a contract for almost UAH 2 million, the parties again signed an additional agreement, which reduced the volume of fuel and instead increased the price per liter (up to 7.4% for gasoline and up to 9.95% for diesel).

As a result, according to the investigation, more than UAH 162 thousand was spent unjustifiably.

On January 23, 2026, the official was notified of suspicion of official negligence. The court imposed a bail of UAH 33,280 on him with procedural obligations. The court has now granted the prosecutor's request and extended the term of these duties.

Kiliia Hospital also canceled a tender for coal because of a new boiler, but later still entered into a contract and terminated it after the supplier delivered only part of the fuel. Law enforcement officers opened a case due to the dubious origin of the coal and the company's possible ties to businesses in the occupied territories.

Анна Бальчінос