Under Kyiv, not a single one of 26 protective structures for energy facilities was completed on time

In the Kyiv region, not a single one of the 26 protective structures for energy facilities was completed on time, although they were supposed to be handed over by October 1.

This was reported by People’s Deputy Oleksiy Kucherenko following a meeting of the parliamentary investigative commission on energy and critical infrastructure protection.

According to Kucherenko, the deadlines for handing over the protective structures were postponed three times, but none were met. Construction began without completed designs, and some structures, according to an assessment by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, do not account for the threat of drone strikes.

The average readiness of the facilities according to documents is 55%, but it is unclear what this assessment is based on. Certificates of completed work exist for only 15% of the total cost of the work. Contractors have already received about 750 million hryvnias (about €14.9 million) in advances and are demanding another 400 million. The total work is estimated at 1.8 billion hryvnias (about €35.7 million).

Two companies were selected as general contractors without alternatives, which, according to Kucherenko, are linked to Lyubomyra Kozhushko, previously implicated in investigations into inflated costs of state contracts. The instruction to sign such contracts was given by the first deputy head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, Ruslan Oliynyk, who is currently listed in the Ministry of Restoration but, according to the deputy, has left Ukraine. The supply of metal structures for protecting the facilities was handled by Vladimir Sokolov, a figure in a corruption investigation.

Kucherenko noted that Sokolov participated in meetings and gave verbal guarantees, although no official contracts were signed with his entities. Relations between the customer and contractors were based mainly on verbal agreements.

Construction was practically not coordinated with energy workers from DTEK. As representatives of the company, cited by Kucherenko, stated, now due to unfinished work it is difficult to connect additional equipment before the cold weather.

The deputy added that the deadlines for completing construction are unknown. It is impossible to transfer the facilities to the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development due to the lack of documents, and further funding is blocked.

The commission decided to appeal to the SBU, the State Bureau of Investigation, and the National Police regarding possible crimes, demand a financial audit, and propose measures to the Cabinet of Ministers to complete the construction.

In connection with the mentioned deputy Sokolov, a scandal arose: he was found to have a luxury penthouse with a pool and an office with a live crocodile. The businessman assured that the property was purchased before the war. Sokolov also accused the former head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, Mykola Kalashnyk, of not paying for the work done on the facilities and trying to make the contractor a scapegoat.