In Mykolaiv, 187 million for food in kindergartens was given to a company with a history of abuse

In Mykolaiv, tenders for food for kindergartens were held without competition. More than 187 million was awarded to a company with a dubious reputation and a history of abuse.

TheCenter for Public Investigations decided to check whether the company had any pitfalls in its activities.

At the beginning of 2026, the Education Department of Mykolaiv City Council announced two tenders for catering in preschool education institutions. According to Prozoroo, the total value of the procurement was over UAH 187 million - UAH 76,085,359 and UAH 111,604,380. The deadline for submitting bids was January 9.

SCREEN SHOT: Prozorro

According to the tender documentation, the selected contractor has to supply services until June 30, 2026.

However, both auctions did not take place: only one company, the Municipal Production Enterprise for Catering in Mykolaiv Educational Institutions (KOP), took part in the tender.

According to the YouControl analytical system, the company was registered back in 2000, and its authorized capital was over UAH 581 thousand. The company's founder is the Mykolaiv City Council.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

Despite its municipal ownership, the company has repeatedly been the focus of journalistic investigations and criminal proceedings. In particular, the ruling of the Mykolaiv Court of Appeal shows that since March 2022, military officials, together with public and private companies, have been abusing their positions during martial law.

The case concerns the procurement of food for military units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Mykolaiv and Kherson regions (including a contract with S-Rostok LLC) and terrorist defense units in Mykolaiv. The customer was the Executive Committee of Mykolaiv City Council, and the contractor was the KOP. According to the court, the officials did not fulfill the terms of the contracts properly, which caused significant losses to the state.

In total, the company earned more than UAH 1.3 billion from public tenders. The largest amount was in 2025, over UAH 474 million.

SCREENSHOT: YouControl

Local media have repeatedly reported that the KOP overcharges for contracts and holds tenders without competition. In particular, the company formed the cost of catering for schools through companies that, as journalists found out, may be related to local authorities.

At the same time, the State Audit Service has already begun to check other procurements for signs of irregularities. The auditors are examining a tender for catering services held by the KOP in November 2025. They sent a request to justify the costs, technical and quality characteristics of the procurement, as well as the calculation of the expected cost. As the journalists found out, all the companies may have ties to the head of the Ingule district administration.

Анна Бальчінос