In Zaporizhia, during the overhaul of a shelter at the city's emergency and first aid hospital, large-scale violations and a significant overestimation of the cost of materials were discovered. A contract worth UAH 12.2 million was awarded to a company connected to local officials and politicians without a competitive tender.
The purchase was made in December 2023. The contract with LLC "RSU-STROY" was concluded without a competitive procedure. The contractor was a Zaporizhzhia company led by Dmitry Stratius, the main owners of which are Oleksandr Shapovalov (90%) and Igor Alekseev (10%).
The investigation established that the company has direct or indirect ties to Oleksandr Onyshchenko, a deputy of the Zaporizhzhia City Council from the "Unity" party. In 2016, he was an assistant to Nina Gurska, a deputy of the city council from the "Opposition Bloc", who was suspected of collaborationist activities in 2023.
For a long time, the hospital did not disclose the certificates of work performed, citing limited access due to the alleged threat to critical infrastructure. However, the court found these arguments unfounded and ordered the documents to be provided.
The analysis showed systemic overpricing:
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The filter absorbers were purchased for UAH 186,881 per unit at a market price of about UAH 8,000. The overpayment for 12 units amounted to over UAH 2.1 million.
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Anti-explosion devices were purchased for UAH 100,913 per unit at a market price of about UAH 22,000. The overpayment was over UAH 315,000.
In general, in the analyzed part of the estimate in the amount of UAH 3.9 million, overpayments of UAH 3.3 million were established, which is almost 85% of the costs.
This story became another example of how, during martial law and work to strengthen critical infrastructure facilities, local budget funds can be spent through schemes with "their" contractors and multiple price hikes.
