Another high-profile corruption scandal is unfolding in the Mykolaiv region, this time around the organization of school meals. Under the cover of formally legal tender procedures, budget funds were actually distributed among interconnected structures, and the result of the scheme was not only financial losses, but also a real threat to the health of children.
In December 2025, the municipal production enterprise of the Mykolaiv City Council identified the company "Proseko 8" as the supplier of catering services for educational institutions. The company became the only bidder and received a contract worth about 14 million hryvnias. The formal "savings" for the budget amounted to only 0.05 percent, which actually indicates the absence of real competition.
However, as it turned out, the tender itself was only the final stage of a previously prepared scheme. When forming the expected cost, the customer took into account the commercial offers of three entities, which were supposed to create the appearance of a market analysis. However, all these companies, according to registers and internal documents, are somehow connected with one person - the head of the Ingul district administration and a deputy of the city council, Anna Remennikova.
The official owner of Proseko 8 LLC is Iryna Stoyeva, who previously worked in catering establishments owned by the Remennikov family. According to available information, the company's legal support was provided by the head of the legal department of the district administration, who is controlled by the same deputy.
Other "competitors", whose price offers were used to calculate the expected cost, also turned out to be not accidental. Individual entrepreneur Tetyana Kamasheva and the company "Nasoloda RK" have common contacts with business structures associated with the Remennikova family. This includes, in particular, the restaurant "Daily Sport" and companies owned by her son Boris Berestnev. Thus, the customer actually created ideal conditions for the victory of a predetermined supplier.
The development of events became particularly acute after the scheme began to go beyond purely financial abuses. While the State Audit Service had only just begun monitoring the procurement, law enforcement agencies had already conducted searches and documented actual violations. In the seized samples of school food, experts found E. coli, which poses an immediate threat to the health of children.
As a result of the investigative actions, official suspicions were handed over to the head of LLC "Proseko 8" Iryna Stoyeva, as well as the acting director of the municipal enterprise Petr Vashenyak. The investigation is considering the version of conspiracy, abuse of office and supply of low-quality products to educational institutions.
The scandal surrounding school meals in the Mykolaiv region has once again demonstrated that corruption schemes in the field of socially sensitive procurement not only drain budget funds, but also directly threaten the lives and health of children. The further course of the case will show whether all participants in this scheme, including those who were behind its organization, will be held accountable.
