In the Mykolaiv region, a contractor received a 68-million advance payment, but the substation's protective structures were not built

Over the past two years, there have been two attempts to protect the "Progresivka" substation in the Mykolaiv region from Russian attacks. The contractor received tens of millions of hryvnias in advance payments but never actually built the necessary protective measures.

This is reported in an article by Nikcenter, whose journalists analyzed materials from criminal proceedings, court rulings, and the terms of funding for work to protect Ukrenergo’s substations.

The first incident involved nearly 10 million hryvnias. In September 2023, the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration’s Infrastructure Department signed a contract with IKAD LLC for work to protect the substation. However, during an SBU audit in January 2024, it was discovered that the actual work was performed by others—the private enterprise “Monolit” and Ukrenergo employees.

A criminal investigation was opened into this case. In April 2026, the Mykolaiv Central District Court found Ivan Yanchenko, the former director of the state-owned enterprise “Mykolaiv Regional Local Roads Agency,” guilty of abuse of office and document forgery.

But just a year later, a new case arose involving the same substation—this time involving a significantly larger sum.

In November 2024,“Ukrenergo” signed a contract with “Kryvyi Rih Promenergo” LLC for the reconstruction of the “Progresivka” substation and the installation of physical protection for one of the autotransformers. The contract was worth 89.3 million hryvnias.

The contractor received a significant portion of the amount even before the main work began. On December 27, Ukrenergo transferred an advance payment of nearly 68 million hryvnias to the company.

According to investigators, within the next three days, these funds began to be distributed among various payments. In particular, 30 million hryvnias were transferred to the Kharkiv-based LLC “Bud Stroy Postach” as an advance payment under a subcontract.

The work at the substation was ultimately not performed. Ukrenergo noted delays in the schedule and deemed the contractor’s claim of force majeure to be unfounded.

In July 2026, the director of “Kryvyi Rih Promenergo” was notified of his status as a suspect under the article concerning embezzlement, misappropriation, or acquisition of property through abuse of official position. The court imposed a preventive measure in the form of pretrial detention, with an alternative bail set at 67.9 million hryvnias.

According to journalists, this case has another financial consequence. “Bank Alliance,” which provided a bank guarantee under the contract, paid “Ukrenergo” nearly 68 million hryvnias in August 2025.

In the fall of that same year, the bank filed a petition with the court to declare the contractor bankrupt, and in March 2026, the company was declared bankrupt.

“Kryvyi Rih Promenergo” had previously received large government contracts. In 2024, the Sumy Regional State Administration signed contracts with the company for the construction of fortifications worth nearly 640 million hryvnias. According to journalistic investigations, there were also problems with the execution of these contracts.

At the same time, protecting energy infrastructure in the south remains a major challenge. According to data provided by Nikcenter, between 2023 and 2025, “Ukrenergo” signed 19 contracts for the reconstruction of 330 kV substations in the southern regions. Their total value exceeded 1.3 billion hryvnias.

However, 13 of the 19 contracts remain active in the Prozorro system, meaning the work under them has not been completed. Nine of them were signed as early as 2023.

Ірина Глухова