We analyzed 167 public procurement procedures announced in the Kherson region in August 2026. Of these, 114 resulted in contracts worth UAH 150,523,715.93, while 53 procedures were unsuccessful. Several procurements worth tens of millions of hryvnias had the greatest impact on this figure (UA-2026-08-18-000537-a, UA-2026-08-04-000627-a, UA-2026-08-02-000187-a).
This report covers only procedures conducted through the Prozorro electronic procurement system. Direct contracts concluded outside the system were excluded from the calculations. We checked contractors’ integrity using the YouControl analytical platform.
Breakdown by sector:
- Healthcare facilities conducted 51 procurements worth UAH 9,615,880.66.
- Municipal enterprises conducted 14 procurements worth UAH 2,538,785.49.
- Educational institutions conducted 13 procurements worth UAH 77,040,054.48.
- Administrations (city and regional administrations and departments) conducted 11 procurements worth UAH 3,150,715.11.
- The Main Directorate of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the Kherson region conducted 10 procurements worth UAH 561,758.46.
- Military units, police, and courts conducted 8 procurements worth UAH 56,508,621.63.
- Village, settlement, city, and regional councils conducted 4 procurements worth UAH 1,242,708.33.
- Social services (the Pension Fund and employment centers) conducted 3 procurements worth UAH 475,044.63.
Healthcare facilities accounted for the largest number of completed procedures—51—while the largest amounts were allocated to education and military needs. Together, these two sectors accounted for approximately 88.4% of the total value of completed procurements. Purchases of medicines, medical supplies, and electricity made up a substantial share of healthcare facilities’ spending, although individual contracts were significantly smaller than the largest military and construction contracts. Fuel and transportation appeared regularly, but their overall financial volume was much lower than the value of the largest contracts.
What caught our attention
Repeat procurements
We identified at least 11 cases of repeat procurements. The initial tender had failed for various reasons, including a lack of bids; rejection of a bidder for failing to meet the technical specifications or other requirements set out in the tender documentation; failure to correct discrepancies identified in the submitted information and/or documents after bids were opened; or a bidder’s written refusal to enter into a contract under the terms specified by the contracting authority in its request for supplier proposals, among other reasons. In most cases, the repeated tender was successful.
The most notable example involves catering services for educational institutions on the right bank of the Kherson region (UA-2026-08-20-013258-a, UA-2026-08-14-005994-a, UA-2026-08-18-008338-a, UA-2026-08-17-010851-a). All four contracting authorities re-announced procurements for catering services—delivery of prepared meals for students in grades 1–4 and grades 5–11—within a very short period after their initial procedures failed.
The same company, Service Rest Group LLC, won all four procurements, signing contracts worth UAH 2,042,220 with municipal institutions. The fact that one supplier works with several schools is not, in itself, a violation. However, the combination of circumstances raises concerns: none of the four procedures involved effective price competition; all four were re-tenders following unsuccessful initial attempts; and the estimated value increased by 11–32% in three cases. Meanwhile, the main technical and quantitative specifications remained unchanged. We analyzed these procurements in a separate report.
Large financial flows largely determine the overall picture
The largest amounts in August 2026 were allocated to the construction of a protective shelter (UA-2026-08-04-000627-a) and repairs to an educational institution (UA-2026-08-02-000187-a), with a combined estimated value of UAH 73,847,873.00 excluding VAT.
In early August, the Vysokopillia Barvinok Preschool (Nursery-Kindergarten) announced a procurement for the new construction of a civil protection shelter, with an estimated value of UAH 54,702,821.33 excluding TOV BUDEKODOR was the sole bidder and was awarded the contract. The company offered to carry out the work for approximately UAH 126,000, less than the estimated procurement value. The contract was signed for UAH 65,492,238, including UAH 10,915,373 in VAT.
The company was registered in Kherson in 2023. Its director is Serhii Abramov, and its owner is Oleksandr Abramov; both are from Dnipro. Since its establishment, the company has changed its registered address and ownership. Its main clients have been government authorities and municipal enterprises in the Kherson region. Despite its relatively short operating history, the company has already secured tens of millions of hryvnias in public procurement contracts. In 2025, the total value of its contracts exceeded UAH 34.5 million. According to YouControl, its expected revenue from public procurement alone for the first nine months of 2026 amounts to UAH 78,276,423. Based on our sample of payment data from the Spending portal for the first nine months of 2026, TOV BUDEKODOR has already received nearly UAH 7 million.
The procurement has already attracted the attention of journalists and the State Audit Service of Ukraine (SASU). On September 9, 2026, the State Audit Service launched a monitoring review of the procurement. The grounds were signs of possible violations of public procurement legislation identified by the state financial control authority in information published in the Prozorro electronic system. According to the official audit findings, no violations were identified in the matters examined. These included the review of TOV BUDEKODOR's bid, the preparation of the contract, and compliance of the tender documentation with the requirements reviewed.
The company has also been mentioned repeatedly in media reports and analytical publications. According to Vchasno, in November, the Recovery and Infrastructure Development Service in the Donetsk region entrusted the company with technical supervision of restricted-access facilities. The company appeared in the Donetsk region for the first time and immediately signed eight contracts. An analysis of procurements, media publications, and transactions by the Department of Territorial Development of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, conducted by the Union Foundation, revealed a recurring pattern: the contractor and the technical supervision provider, BUDEKODOR LLC, work on the same facilities; completion certificates are processed in batches; and payments are often made on the same day or almost simultaneously.
The surrounding grounds of the building housing Preschool No. 2 of the Velykooleksandrivska Settlement Council will be repaired by TOV Ukrspetsmontazh Trading and Installation Company for UAH 22,955,904.05, including VAT. The company is owned by Viktoriia Lobyntseva from Mariupol and Oleksii Marchuk from the Cherkasy region. It is registered in the village of Chornobaivka, Kherson region. The company received the contract without competition, as it was the sole bidder. TOV Ukrspetsmontazh Trading and Installation Company was mentioned by the Center for Investigative Journalism as a company with questionable connections that secured a contract worth nearly UAH 56 million to build a new radiation-protective shelter for a school in the village of Liubymivka, Kherson region, despite having no prior experience performing such work. According to YouControl, since the beginning of 2026, the company has won three tenders worth UAH 114,764,223.
Healthcare facilities conducted 51 procurements worth UAH 9,615,880.66. Three main patterns are evident in the healthcare sector: regular purchases of medicines in small batches, repeated tenders following unsuccessful initial procedures, and substantial electricity costs at certain medical facilities.
Medicines were the largest category by value, totaling UAH 4.27 million, or 44.4% of all completed healthcare procurements. The Kherson Regional Oncology Center was the leading contracting authority in terms of the number of medicine procurements completed in August 2026. Its completed medicine purchases totaled approximately UAH 3.99 million, accounting for about 93.6% of all pharmaceutical procurement spending.
Electricity accounted for 38.5% of all completed procurements in the healthcare sector. In August 2026, two major procurements were announced, with a combined estimated value of UAH 3.71 million.
The Kherson Regional Council’s Municipal Nonprofit Enterprise “Kherson Regional Mental Health Care Facility” signed a contract under procurement UA-2026-08-17-002804-a with TOV YASNO+ for UAH 1,409,991.25, including VAT. The company has repeatedly received contracts in the Kherson region. TOV YASNO+ was registered in Kyiv on July 17, 2023. Its founders are D. Solutions B.V. (the Netherlands) and Rinat Leonidovych Akhmetov. The company is part of the DTEK Group and operates under the YASNO brand, which is widely recognized in Ukraine’s energy market.
At the same time, journalistic investigations and court records have repeatedly described risky practices in public electricity procurement involving DTEK Group companies or companies associated with the YASNO brand. In particular, materials published by the Information Agency “Anti-Corruption Human Rights Council” describe procurements for public institutions in which a recurring pattern is alleged: after a tender is awarded to the bidder offering the “best” price, a series of additional agreements is signed within a short period, gradually increasing the electricity price by 20–30% or more. As a result, the actual contract value may rise to two or three times the original amount, directly contradicting the principles and restrictions set out in Ukraine’s Law on Public Procurement.
The Kherson Regional Council’s Municipal Nonprofit Enterprise “Phthisiopulmonology Medical Center” signed a contract under procurement UA-2026-08-04-001402-a worth UAH 1,609,447.08, including VAT, with TOV Zaporizhzhia Electricity Supply, registered in Zaporizhzhia on April 26, 2018. According to YouControl, its ultimate beneficial owner, holding a 100% stake, is Zaporizhzhiaoblenergo PJSC.
In 2025, Zaporizhzhiaoblenergo PJSC appeared in journalistic investigations concerning the possible overpricing of work under a major UAH 34.22 million tender for electricity network reconstruction in Zaporizhzhia. Journalists from Nashi Hroshi noted that certain cost-estimate items—including cables, transformers, pipes, and construction materials—were priced 15–50% above market rates. The tender also proceeded without competition, with only a minimal reduction from the estimated value.
Conclusion
Monitoring of public procurement in the Kherson region in August 2026 showed that the largest share of financial resources was concentrated in the education sector and in procurements for the needs of the military, police, and courts. Meanwhile, healthcare facilities performed the most procedures, with medicines and electricity being their main areas of expenditure.
Particular attention should be paid to repeat procurements, most of which resulted in contracts being awarded after unsuccessful initial attempts.
Large construction procurements remain a separate area of risk. The substantial value of contracts combined with a lack of competitive bids underscores the need for close scrutiny of cost estimates, material prices, the quality of completed work, and the independence of technical supervision.
Overall, the monitoring results point to the need for stronger public oversight of budget spending. Priorities for further work should include verifying whether the prices of large contracts are justified, analyzing competition and repeat procedures, monitoring additional agreements and actual payments, and comparing prices for similar goods and services across different contracting authorities. This approach would help not only to identify potential risks but also to assess the efficiency of public spending and to pinpoint specific opportunities for savings.
This material was prepared with the financial support of the European Union and Equal Rights & Independent Media (ERIM). Its contents are the sole responsibility of Kherson Regional Charitable Foundation "Union" and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EU and ERIM.
