Kherson authorities gave half a billion for non-working shelters

Kherson authorities have spent more than half a billion hryvnias on repairing shelters, but most of them are either closed or unusable. The contracts were awarded to companies with no construction experience and resources associated with Kherson MVA officials.

This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism.

In January 2024, the police tried to gain access to the tender documents of Budpostach-StSV, which has earned 140 million hryvnias since 2023 on shelter repairs. As part of the criminal proceedings, the police are investigating possible embezzlement and misappropriation of budget funds by employees of the Civil Protection Department of the Kherson MVA under the leadership of Oleksandr Horin.

Among the contractors are new individual entrepreneurs who almost immediately received multimillion-dollar contracts. For example, Natalia Yurchenko registered as an individual entrepreneur in July 2023, and in August she received three contracts worth 5.75 million. She claimed that her sister was doing the repairs, but she denied any connection to the work. Vasyl Rzhevsky worked in a similar way, receiving more than 20 million hryvnias to repair shelters without any construction experience.

According to the investigation, he collaborated with Kherson MVA officials to "cut" the budget. Many of the contractors are connected to each other or to the old Kherson authorities through the Luhansk region. Roman Mrochko, the former head of the MVA, brought a team of familiar individual entrepreneurs, including new countrymen with no experience, who received millions of dollars in contracts.

In total, 14 individual entrepreneurs and companies are involved in the case. Even after Horin's dismissal in August 2025, the new head of the Civil Defense Department of the Kherson MVA, Mykola Prusov, continued to sign contracts worth tens of millions of hryvnias. The Khodykin family, for example, controls the entire process: they develop projects, carry out repairs, and conduct technical supervision.

An analysis of the estimates shows a systematic overpricing of building materials: aerated concrete blocks are purchased at UAH 4,850 per cubic meter, while the average market price is UAH 3,500; primer at UAH 139 per liter instead of UAH 50-70. Other contractors, including individual entrepreneurs associated with former leaders, have similar overcharges.

According to the Kherson Regional Civil Defense Administration, only 2% of citizens use shelters during air raids. The reason is simple: Russian positions are across the Dnipro River, a shell can reach them in seconds, and access to repaired shelters is often limited. Some basements remain inaccessible due to the lack of keys or because of "elite" access for officials.

In total, since 2022, about 550 million hryvnias have been spent on repairs and equipment of shelters. On average, 2.4 million was spent per basement, and only a small percentage of Kherson residents use them. The issue of reinforced concrete street shelters in the private sector remains unresolved. BUD CITY received a contract for more than 4 million and, according to the investigation, overcharged by 1.3 million.

Despite the numerous frauds and hundreds of millions of hryvnias spent, the new authorities in Kherson are only beginning to check the availability of shelters. The head of the Kherson MVA, Yaroslav Shanko, has already said that cases of shelters being locked with private locks are being investigated, and those responsible will be brought to administrative and criminal responsibility.

Recently, the Center for Public Investigations wrote that the construction of a school shelter in Vysokopillia, Kherson region, was ordered without an auction for more than UAH 21 million. In total, hundreds of millions have already been spent on the shelter, which were received by companies previously suspected of embezzlement and associated with the deputy head of the Kherson Regional State Administration.

Анна Бальчінос