Law enforcement officials uncovered negligence in the construction of a shelter in Kherson worth 10 million

In Kherson, technical supervisor Mykhailo Stechyshyn was notified that he is suspected of professional negligence. According to investigators, inadequate oversight during the construction of a shelter for a school may have led to the cost of the work being inflated by more than 10 million.

The Center for Public Investigations has uncovered details of the case and the court’s ruling regarding the suspect.

According to the court ruling, the case concerns the construction of a radiation shelter on the grounds of School No. 55 of the Kherson City Council at 9-B Kostya Gordienko Street. In December 2024, the Capital Construction Department entered into a contract with Tensens LLC and hired an engineer for technical supervision.

As reported by the Center for Political Reforms (CPR), Stechyshyn registered as a sole proprietor in November 2023 in Lviv and has since specialized in supervising construction work. City council representatives decided not to hold a competitive bidding process, instead signing a contract worth 856,000 hryvnias without using an electronic system. For this amount, he was to monitor the progress of the shelter’s construction until August 31, 2025.

According to the investigation, between February and October 2025, he failed to ensure proper oversight. He signed certificates of completion totaling over 24.4 million hryvnias, although a subsequent expert review revealed an overcharge of 10.3 million.

The largest overstatement—over 5.9 million hryvnias—was found in Certificate No. 1. Specifically, the foundation slab was actually thinner, the concrete had a lower strength class, and the amount of rebar listed in the documents was overstated.

In other reports, experts also noted discrepancies in the concrete grade, as well as overstated quantities of rebar and wire mesh. Overall, the investigation concludes that the engineer’s failure to properly perform his duties caused over 10.3 million hryvnias in losses to the city administration.

Additionally, the reconstruction of the war-ravaged village of Posad-Pokrovskyi in the Kherson region has become the focus of a criminal investigation. Law enforcement officials are examining whether budget funds allocated for the village’s reconstruction may have been misused.

Анна Бальчінос