19 May 2026
(Kherson Art Museum Photo: Kherson Regional State Administration)
The Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office has succeeded in terminating the contract for the restoration of the Oleksiy Shovkunenko Kherson Regional Art Museum in court to prevent the loss of more than UAH 62 million in budget funds.
According to the prosecutor's office, the contract for the restoration of the museum was signed in 2021 between the relevant department of the Kherson Regional State Administration and a private enterprise. The total cost of the work was UAH 95 million.
During the inspection of the contract, prosecutors found that out of the UAH 32 million transferred to the contractor, only UAH 4 million worth of work had actually been completed.
The KhersonRegional Art Museum named after Oleksiy Shovkunenko is one of the largest art museums in southern Ukraine. During the occupation of Kherson, the Russian military took out a significant part of the collection.
According to the investigation, more than 28 million hryvnias were paid unjustifiably. The prosecutor's office recovered these funds in favor of the state through a separate lawsuit, which the court granted in January 2026.
The prosecutor's office noted that due to the full-scale war and inflation, it was impossible to continue the restoration according to the old estimate.
Therefore, law enforcement officers initiated the final termination of the contract to secure the remaining budget funds in the amount of over UAH 62 million.
The court upheld the position of the prosecutor's office and terminated the contract for the restoration of the museum.
Last year, the Oleksiy Shovkunenko Kherson Regional Art Museum was included in the list of the most influential museums according to the results of the international MuseumWeek 2025. Among more than 17.5 thousand participants from 80 countries, the Kherson Museum is one of 152 museums included in the ranking. The list also includes the Dnipro Historical Museum and the NBU Museum of Money.
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