Who and How Misappropriated EU Millions at «Underground Schools» in Kherson?

For the third year, Kherson residents have lived in the active combat zone. They moved their living underground. They spend significant part of their life underground. Kherson residents give birth to their children there. Hospitals and humanitarian centers are located there. Concerts and performances of local theatre, sports competitions, academic lectures and seminars are held underground.

Recently large public scandal surrounded multi-million building of so-called «underground schools». Does the city need them? Who and how misappropriated budgetary funds – our investigation will answer these questions.

Last year former head of Kherson city military administration Roman Mrochko told Minister of Education Oksen Lisovy about plans to build four «underground schools». Mrochko stated that those schools would be for children, residing in Kherson, and children who would soon come back to the city.

We would complete this object within nine months and it would be filled with children, as former head of military administration told Lisovy on the site of future construction.

Roman Mrochko (to the left) demonstrates to Minister of Education Oksen Lisovy the site of future construction of «underground school». July 2024. Photo: Kherson military city administration 

Mister Mrochko insisted on construction though he knew very well that it would not be possible to use objects as schools. Kherson city community is located within the active combat zone and it means that offline tuition of children is illegal, even if schools have bomb shelters.

Minister Lisovy should have known about it. Central governmental authorities should not have transferred additional subsidies for this purpose.

It should be emphasized that they were financed by the European Union through Ukraine Facility program.

However, the central governmental authorities approved this project. Council of Defense and Kherson Oblast State Administration ordered city administration to conduct procurement of construction works as urgent, without mandatory electronic bidding.

It was remarkable that Mrochko’s team changed names of construction objects. In July 2024, Mrochko called them «underground schools of double use». Three months later, in October 2024, main PR manager of city council Denys Putintsev called them «anti-radiation shelters, not schools, as many media call them».

Russian occupants announced that they would treat new objects as legitimate military targets, as «headquarters» of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Residents of buildings, neighboring future «underground schools», asked local authorities to stop construction works as they were afraid of consequent Russian shelling. City administration ignored their requirements. First Russian guided bombs exploded near construction sites on October 7, 2024.

Ruined school #41 after Russian bombardment in Kherson, October 2024. Photo: Center for Journalist Investigations

Russian shelling did not stop Mrochko’s team from using EU money for illegal purposes – despite protests of Kherson residents.

Almost 400 million UAH were allocated for building four school shelters \ «underground schools». None of them has been completed within planned timeframe.

Currently, 3,5-4 thousand children of school age are residing in Kherson. It means that 100 thousand UAH should be spent, in order to provide one child with a place in an «underground school».

What are the current results, on the eve of new school year?

Let us start with school # 41, ruined by Russian guided bomb in October 2024. Construction of an «underground school», later renamed as shelter, was estimated at almost 90 million UAH.

The Department of Capital Construction of Kherson City Council selected as contractor LLC «Budpostach-STSV», without open competitive bidding. The company changed its legal address from Ivano-Frankivsk to Kherson two months before the selection. Soon, it became beloved contractor of Kherson city authorities. Besides construction of «underground schools», «Budpostach» received dozens of contracts for repairing temporary shelters in the city (total amount – 380 million UAH).

Oleksandr Novokhatsky, director of LLC «Budpostach-STSV». Photo from open sources

It was evident that director and co-owner of «Budpostach» Oleksandr Novokhatsky enjoyed unconditional support of city officials. He became arrogant and started requiring kickbacks from sub-contractors (up to one quarter of contract value). He promised them that he would easily «solve any problems» with city procurement officials. As an outcome, he was arrested by the State Security Service of Ukraine under the accusation of «kickbacks» in January 2025.

In April 2025, the situation changed. Roman Mrochko was dismissed. Contracts between the Department of Capital Construction of Kherson City Administration and «Budpostach» were cancelled, upon consent of both parties (but not because of missed deadlines). The company received over 32 million UAH for completed works.

Novokhatsky’s company had to build new «anti-radiation shelter» on the territory of kindergarten # 56 (total cost – 109 million UAH). However, construction works have not yet started. Contract on repairing works on underground shelter in another school was postponed until the end of 2026.

Construction near school # 41 in Kherson, July 2025. Photo: Center for Journalist Investigations

In order to complete construction of shelter near school #41, the Department of Capital Construction contracted LLC «Megaplan Fast». The company «moved» to Kherson just five days before the announcement of bidding results. It changed its owner and manager from Kyiv to Kherson people. The company was founded at the end of last year, with major business profile being production of meat! It has not had any experience in public procurement.

However, head of the Department Dmytro Kholodov easily signed 56 million UAH contract with this company. In July 2025, the contract was terminated as no works were conducted.

«Megaplan» had to clean construction site from equipment and garbage by July 10, 2025. We visited the site one week after the deadline and found out that some works were still ongoing. When workers saw our camera, they fled. One of them, with name Nariman, told us that he was Kherson resident and he worked on the site only the second day and did not know who would pay him a salary.

We were lucky to spot presumed employers of Nariman on the site. Our journalist had to the chance to film one person from several men who took a car with transit car plate and left the site.

We identified him. He is Lviv entrepreneur Greskiv Mykhailo Volodymyrovych. Seven years ago, he registered business entity, with main business profile of wholesale trade of furniture and carpets. He refused to tell us why he managed workers on the site (works should have been stopped after termination of contract). Workers told us that they saw Greskiv for the first time in their lives.

Lviv entrepreneur Mykhailo Greskiv at the construction site of «underground school» in Kherson, July 2025. Photo: Center for Journalist Investigations

Construction of «anti-radiation shelters» has been stopped in other Kherson schools – school #55 and High professional school #2. Total value of contracts – almost 170 million UAH. LLC «Tensens» has been the contractor. It has not had any experience in public procurement of construction works. It has been re-registered from Kyiv to Kherson on the eve of «winning bids».

It is remarkable that stamps of «Tensens» were found by officers of the State Security Service of Ukraine during the search of the office of Oleksandr Novokhatsky, co-owner of «Budpostach-STSV»!

When «Tensens» signed contracts on construction of «underground schools», it has been managed by Maksym Serduk, taxi driver from Poltava region. He also verified data on ownership structure of company «Megaplan-Fast» which had to complete shelter in school # 41 after «Budpostach».

Thus, three different contractors, with single management center, had to build four Kherson «underground schools», i.e. to misappropriate money allocated by the European Union to Ukraine within Ukraine Facility program.

All contracts were signed by Denys Kholodov, the Head of the Department of Capital Construction of Kherson city administration. He is an experienced manager and he consciously signed multi-million contracts with obviously fictitious companies.

After termination of all above mentioned contracts, Kholodov keeps his position as Head of the Department and signs other multi-million contracts.

On July 28, 2025, Kholodov ordered to terminate contracts with LLC «Tensens». Failure to fulfill contractual obligations and low quality of works were indicated as reasons of termination (not «consent of both parties» as it happened before with other dubious contracts). However, «Tensens» received 34 million UAH within two contracts.

Thus, we do not have four shelters \ «underground schools» on the eve of new school year, and the Ukrainian government allocated almost 70 million UAH to companies «Budpostach» and «Tensens» for low quality works and too high prices  on construction materials.

Below are examples of prices on materials from terminated contracts. Kherson officials had to examine them before concluding contracts.

«Megaplan Fast» indicated the following price of roofing felt – 126 UAH per one square meter. Its price in Kherson construction supermarket, located several blocks away from school #41, is 25 UAH. Other market prices can be as low as 20 UAH.

«Megaplan Fast» bought wire mesh for 357 UAH per square meter. In Zaporizhzhia, its price is 137 UAH less if you buy more than 10 meters.

«Budpostach-STSV» also bought a lot of construction materials at higher than average market prices. Here is their list:

It is interesting that the most expensive toilet bowl costs up to 5 thousand UAH in Kherson supermarket. «Budpostach» indicated that it planned to buy one toilet bowl for 6,5 thousand UAH (for gymnasium #1).

Since September 2024, investigators of Kherson office of the National Police of Ukraine has investigated the misappropriation by «Budpostach» of budgetary resources through inflating prices on materials and works during the construction of shelter in school 41.

However, no public officials, involved into dubious construction schemes, were brought into justice. Mrochko and his team left the city without any problems. Some of them received new appointments in Vinnytsia.

Meanwhile, situation with so-called Kherson «underground schools» ran into the stalemate. One may spend even more money on «underground schools», not needed before liberation of Dnipro Left Bank. Or one may stop building process and leave concrete boxes as a reminder for descendants how EU money for the Ukrainian government should not be spent…

This article is made within IWPR project «Strengthening Civic Oversight» financed by Norway