The restoration of medical infrastructure in the deoccupied territories of the Kharkiv region is not only a humanitarian issue, but also a strategic one. Izyum, which is still under constant threat of shelling, needs a hospital capable of saving lives. However, another large contract concluded by the Department of Capital Construction of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration once again exposes an old problem: instead of transparent restoration, there are inflated estimates, “their” contractors, and doubts about the feasibility of spending.
The Department signed a contract for UAH 110.06 million with LLC "SK Pantheon", which is to restore the medical and diagnostic building of the Central City Hospital of Pishchansk Our Lady. The medical institution was significantly damaged and looted by Russian occupiers in 2022. Preliminary expenses for the hospital itself have already reached more than UAH 148 million, and last year the Regional State Administration announced a large-scale tender for UAH 1.05 billion, which ultimately did not receive treasury funding. Now new funds are being allocated for the repair, and the completion date has been pushed back to the end of 2026.
However, it is the content of the estimate that raises the most questions. In a number of items, the cost of materials is artificially inflated to a level that is difficult to explain by market logic or the proximity of the object to the front. The cost of fiber cement facade panels in the documents is almost 3.9 thousand hryvnias per square meter, although their real market price is at least one and a half times lower. The situation is similar with interior aluminum doors, where the stated price exceeds the average market price by about a third.
Then there is more. The estimate contains significant overpayments for putty, drywall, and primer. The prices for some of these materials exceed market prices by 20–40%, which cannot be a consequence of inflation or logistical difficulties. In total, the potential overpayment for just five verified items is over UAH 5.2 million. This is money that should have gone to strengthening shelters, purchasing equipment, or increasing the object's resistance to shelling, and not to the difference in price that ends up in the pockets of intermediaries.
The contractor himself deserves special attention. LLC "SK Pantheon" has long been known to procurement specialists for regular overstatements in its estimates. The company, founded and headed by Oleksiy Buryak, has concluded contracts for more than UAH 918 million since 2020 - and the lion's share of these contracts falls precisely on the decisions of the Department of Capital Construction of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration. During the leadership of Igor Lyaluk, the company practically did not know refusals, winning victory after victory in tenders, which, according to experts, were often formed to the capabilities of a particular contractor.
This episode is a continuation of the systemic scenario: critical infrastructure is being rebuilt formally, facilities need repeated repairs, and funds are being dissolved in inflated prices. And this is in a region where hospitals are working under constant shelling, and every hryvnia has real value for people's lives. The Izyum hospital, which should be a symbol of recovery and support, is turning into another platform for making money for companies that have enjoyed the favor of the regional department for years.
So far, there have been no real explanations from the Regional State Administration or the contractor itself. It remains to be hoped that the situation will not end like many previous tenders, where overpricing and formal inspections never led to real conclusions. And that this time the reconstruction of a medical facility that is on the frontline of the humanitarian front will not become another statistical deal, but will finally meet the needs of people for whom this hospital may be the last chance for salvation.
