30 October 2026
(Mykolaiv Children's Hospital. PHOTO: nikvesti.com)
A contract worth nearly 600 for the renovation of a children’s hospital in Mykolaiv has become the subject of a legal dispute between the regional department and the State Audit Service. The contractor was brought into the proceedings.
The Center for Public Investigations examined the details of this case.
On October 16, 2026, the Mykolaiv District Administrative Court granted the motion filed by Antares-Bud LLC and joined the company to the proceedings as a third party on the side of the regional department. The case involves a lawsuit filed by the Department of Urban Planning, Architecture, Capital Construction, and Development Project Support of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration against the State Audit Service of Ukraine.
Read the full version on the CPR website: A Half-Billion War: A Contractor Has Been Joined as a Party in the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s Lawsuit Against Auditors
The department is demanding that the auditors’ conclusion dated May 14, 2025, regarding the procurement for the reconstruction of the Mykolaiv Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital be overturned. The court opened proceedings in June 2025.
As reported by Intent, on October 15, the High Anti-Corruption Court froze 1.63 million hryvnias, 13,000 euros, and $200 seized by the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) during a search in Mykolaiv. Among the items seized were documents and cost estimates related to the reconstruction of the children’s hospital.
As noted in the ruling, Antares-Bud LLC was brought into the case because the decision could affect the contractor’s rights and interests. The court requested that the company provide written explanations regarding the department’s claims.
Read also: NABU Seized Cash and Documents Related to the Construction of a Hospital in Mykolaiv
The company has repeatedly come under the scrutiny of journalists and the public. For example, in June 2026, the chairman of the board of the NGO “Platform for Public Control” allegedthat the cost of materials and labor had likely been inflated during the renovation of a shelter on Kyivska Street in Mykolaiv. According to him, the budget losses could have exceeded 1.36 million hryvnias. However, the court refused to compel law enforcement agencies to open a criminal investigation.
Анна Літман