Odessa Will Purchase 920 Facial Recognition Cameras

In Odesa, 295.2 million hryvnias have been allocated for video surveillance as part of the “Safe City” program. Funding for the purchase and installation of cameras in 2026–2028 is expected to increase significantly compared to previous years.

This was reported by the Center for Public Investigations based on an analysis of the city’s program.

For 2020–2025, 22.6 million hryvnias were allocated over six years for the purchase and installation of cameras. In contrast, from 2026 to 2028, the plan is to allocate 21.9 million hryvnias annually for this purpose—a total of 65.6 million hryvnias over three years.

A separate budget line item of 88.2 million hryvnias provides for the installation of 920 cameras. If this amount is divided by the number of cameras, the cost per camera will be approximately 96,000 hryvnias. However, the total amount also includes other equipment, so the actual cost per camera may be lower.

Additionally, 171.8 million hryvnias have been allocated for the maintenance of the city’s “077” Center, including vehicles. In 2026, funding for this area is expected to increase to 49.2 million hryvnias, in part due to an additional 27 million hryvnias.

Read the full analysis by the Center for Policy Analysis—“Drones, Electronic Warfare, and Weapons: 4.38 Billion Allocated for the ‘Safe City’ Program in Odesa” —on the website.

An additional 34.6 million hryvnias has been allocated for driver facial recognition systems.

The amounts listed are planned expenditures underthe “Safe City” program, not confirmed actual expenditures.

Андрій Колісніченко