After three years of living without drinking water, when only salty technical liquid was supplied to the taps of the residents of Mykolaiv, hope has finally appeared: in two weeks the new main water supply will be fully operational. The authorities promise that fresh water will flow into all the city's systems.
But behind this breakthrough lies another side of the story - the financial one. The project, presented as urgent and vital, quickly turned into a corruption scheme with inflated prices, opaque procurement, and contractors of the "right people.".
Initially, the cost of construction was estimated at 3 billion hryvnias. However, within a few months, the figure had almost tripled to 8.8 billion. An analysis of the estimates showed inflated prices for materials and work, and the tenders were awarded to Ukrtransmost LLC and Rostdorstroy LLC.
The closed nature of the procurement raised legitimate suspicions: the cost of construction was increasing not due to inflation or logistics, but due to "deals" between officials and businesses.
The Bureau of Economic Security has opened criminal proceedings No. 72025161020000025 under Part 1 of Article 212 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. This concerns possible tax evasion and financial fraud.
However, while investigators are sorting out the schemes, the residents of Mykolaiv are waiting with relief for the return of fresh water. For them, this is not politics or big money, but the basic right to live in decent conditions.
The story with the water pipeline has become a symbol of the duality of Ukrainian reality: on the one hand, the victory of the community, which will finally receive water. On the other, the shameful practice of profiting from people's basic needs even during war.
