Uniforms from the market - money from the budget: an entrepreneur testified against the former mayor of Bashtanka

The scheme to buy uniforms for Bashtanka's terrorist defense got a new twist: an entrepreneur who pleaded guilty testified against the suspended mayor. According to the investigation, the community lost more than a million hryvnias on cheap clothes from the markets of Odesa and Mykolaiv.

This was reported by Nikcenter.

According to law enforcement, entrepreneur Viktor Pustovar was involved in a scheme to purchase low-quality equipment for territorial defense, using a sole proprietorship registered in his stepfather's name.

The main person involved in the case of embezzlement of budget funds is the suspended mayor of Bashtanka , Oleksandr Berehovyi. The investigation believes that the scheme caused the community losses of more than UAH 1.1 million.

According to the investigation, in the fall of 2022, Pustovar registered a business in the name of his stepfather, Vasyl Katalevsky. A few months later, the Bashtanka City Council concluded a contract with this sole proprietor for the supply of winter clothing for terrorist defense units without an electronic tender.

Court documents state that the then mayor of Bashtanka, Berehovoi, was looking for an opportunity to purchase cheap military clothing and footwear. The uniforms were bought at the 7 Kilometer market in Odesa at lower prices and then resold to the city council at a much higher price. The cheapest shoes, including boots, were purchased at the Kolos market in Mykolaiv.

According to the investigation, the winter set was purchased for about 2.7 thousand hryvnias, while the city council paid about 5 thousand hryvnias for the set. The examination also found that the supplied equipment did not meet the requirements of the Ministry of Defense and was not accompanied by proper quality certificates. Nevertheless, at the end of 2022, the entrepreneur received UAH 772,500 from the budget.

In August 2025, the court took Pustovar into custody with the possibility of bail in excess of UAH 1 million. After paying the bail, he left the detention center the next day. In March, the businessman entered into a plea deal with the investigation and testified incriminating Oleksandr Berehovoi.

The court sentenced him to five years in prison and a two-year ban on business activities, but applied a two-year probationary period.

In determining the sentence, the court took into account the guilty plea, cooperation with the investigation, testimony against the former mayor of Bashtanka, partial compensation of damages in the amount of UAH 552 thousand, and the transfer of UAH 500 thousand from the bail funds to the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Earlier, Vasyl Katalevsky, whose private enterprise was used to implement the scheme, also received a three-year suspended sentence.

The mayor of Bashtanka , Oleksandr Berehovyi, was removed from office by the Bashtanka District Court in September 2025. The case is part of an investigation involving 20 suspects from Mykolaiv region in cases of alleged embezzlement of a total of UAH 364 million.

Анна Бальчінос