A scheme in ruins: where 32 million went during the construction of an underground school in Kherson

While Kherson is trying to return children to safe education under shelling, the story of the construction of a shelter for school No. 41 has become an example of millions of dollars spent without results. Funds were allocated and agreements were signed, but the work never started.

The Center for Public Investigations decided to find out the details of this project.

Restoration project at DREAM

According to the DREAM ecosystem, one of these projects is the construction of a radiation shelter on the territory of secondary school No. 41 of the Kherson City Council. It is envisaged that the area of the shelter will be 1298.17 square meters.

SCREEN SHOT: DREAM

The space is to be divided into several functional areas: educational, sports, recreation, household, and others. The total estimated cost of the project was UAH 63.8 million.

However, on October 7, 2024, Russian troops carried out air strikes on the Tavriyskyi district of Kherson, where school No. 41 is located. As a result of the shelling, the school building was almost completely destroyed.

Tender and contractor with no experience

According to the public procurement system, in April 2025, the Capital Construction Department of the Kherson City Council signed a contract with Megaplan Fast LLC. According to the contract, the company had to build the shelter by August 31, 2025.

SCREENSHOT: Prozorro

However, already in May, the contractor submitted a certificate of completion, stating that part of the work had allegedly been completed. The document was handed over to the procuring entity on May 19, and on May 21, the contractor was paid UAH 5.7 million.

The company was registered only in 2024 with an authorized capital of 40 thousand hryvnias. It has more than two dozen types of activities, from construction to fuel, furniture, and courier services. The new owner is Roman Matveev, while the previous beneficiary Svitlana Azarova is known for her involvement in more than 180 companies across Ukraine. The contractor won only one tender from this client.

During the on-site inspection at the construction site, it was found that the works specified in the act were not actually performed. As a result, the client did not approve the document.

Embezzlement at a construction site

The construction was funded by the European Union under the Ukraine Facility program. As part of the criminal proceedings, the court granted investigators permission to obtain bank information on the contractor's accounts to track the further movement of funds.

In July 2025, the contract with the company was terminated. The documents indicate that the contractor submitted a certificate of completion for UAH 5.7 million, which was signed by a technical supervision representative. However, during the on-site inspection, it turned out that these works were not actually completed.

SCREEN SHOT: court.gov.ua

At the time of the contract termination, no construction was underway at the facility at all. The delay was so significant that it was no longer possible to complete the work on time. After the contract was terminated, its amount was reduced from 55.9 million to zero.

The first search for a contractor

This is not the first attempt to implement the project. In September 2024, the Capital Construction Department announced a tender and signed a contract with Budpostach-STSV LLC for UAH 89.8 million.

The company was founded in Ivano-Frankivsk in 2015, and in 2023 became one of the key contractors for Kherson. It is headed by Oleksandr Novokhatskyi. Since 2016, the company has earned more than UAH 405 million in public procurement, mostly for shelter repairs.

SCREEN SHOT: Prozorro

In January 2025, a court in Mykolaiv found the company's CEO involved in a corruption offense. It was a case of receiving a bribe of UAH 572 thousand to influence officials and facilitate the conclusion of a contract and acceptance of the work performed.

In April 2025, the contract with this contractor was also terminated. Its amount was reduced by UAH 57.5 million to UAH 32.36 million, which corresponded to the cost of the work actually performed and paid for.

Currently, the project is formally at the implementation stage: the contracts have been fully concluded, but the level of work performance is only 22.73%. At the same time, the question remains as to what exactly more than UAH 32 million was spent on in the absence of completed construction.

Анна Бальчінос