In Volyn, the chairman of the Kivertsi City Council Alexander Kovalchuk is suspected of waste more than six million hryvnias during the purchase of equipment for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. According to the investigation, it is a scheme of purchase of two gas trucks at an inflated price in conspiracy with an entrepreneur.
According to militiamen, in the spring of 2023 the military appealed to the Kivertsi City Council to purchase two trucks for the unit. In response, instead of a transparent procedure, the mayor allegedly organized a purchase through a familiar businessman - and two used Renault Premium trucks cost a budget of UAH 10.3 million.
The investigation estimates, the market value of the equipment was much lower. Thus, about six million hryvnias could be withdrawn from the budget.
The mayor and the entrepreneur were informed of suspicion under Article 191 (5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - appropriation, misappropriation of property or seizure by abuse of office in particularly large amounts.
This is not the first purchase of the Kivertsi City Council, which raises questions. In 2023, police began investigating the purchase of Chinese tractors for public utilities for a similar amount of UAH 10.3 million. Then it was suspected that the community did not receive all the units she paid for. The course and results of that investigation are currently unknown.
The matter is gaining special public weight, given that the purchase was made under the slogan of the front, but any abuse on defense is not just corruption, but a direct threat to military and national security.
