Within the last half a year, the Zaporizhzhia RSA has concluded dozens of agreements with sole entrepreneurs for the supply of military goods for a total amount of about UAH 167 million. Over a quarter of this amount – UAH 44.3 million – was received by four entrepreneurs from Fastiv, in the Kyiv region, who seem to be conducting business only on paper.
The Zaporizhzhia RSA is trying to conceal a considerable part of such agreements for managing defence work, not publishing them on Prozorro portal and shielding them by the status of the defence contractor, although this is not true.
This investigation has become possible thanks to the participants of the NGL.media community, who have access to special content and possibilities.
“I work as a nursery teacher; there are 33 kids in my group. 27 children come regularly, so for UAH 7,100, I am already looking for another job because this number of children and requirements do not correspond to this money… Although I like my job, the salary should be relevant…” – this was the comment, written last spring by a 29-year-old nursery teacher, Kateryna Svyntsytska, while discussing the salaries of teachers on the website of the “Vseosvita” national educational platform.
A few months later, her life took a sharp turn. In October 2024, Kateryna was registered as a sole entrepreneur with the main type of activity stated as “wholesale in electronic and telecommunication equipment and details to it”. And although she has never done any business or dealt with equipment, let alone military equipment, a month later, she concluded contracts for almost UAH 3.4 million.
Kateryna Svyntsytska (a picture of “Vseosvita”)
However, in reality, Kateryna’s life has not changed much. She still works as a teacher at “Romashka” nursery in Fastiv, although she did find an additional job as an entertainer.
NGL.media called the nursery, hoping to find out how she manages to combine this work with the sale of components for drones. At first, Kateryna Svyntsytska couldn’t understand what it was all about and later claimed that her accountant did all the sales. Yet, she refused to name her accountant and give her contact data categorically.
In half a year, Kateryna Svyntsytska concluded four contracts with the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA for a total amount of UAH 5.1 million. This is her only client.
A typical example is a direct contract for the procurement of 35 videosystems for FPV drones for UAH 1.7 million, concluded at the end of March.
In the conversation with NGL.media, Karina Kerimova, responsible for procurements in the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA, explained that direct agreements are concluded due to the urgency of the demands of servicemen. In such cases, she “googles”, selects several Internet shops with the necessary goods, finds out their prices, and suggests their sending commercial proposals.
“But about 95% refuse to conclude a direct contract with a state budget organisation because we pay on delivery. If we fail to agree, then I call everyone we have ever concluded contracts with, even if it was not for these very goods but something similar,” Karina Kerimova said.
As per Kerimova, Svyntsytska took the initiative and sent her commercial proposal for this procurement of videosystems for FPV-drones. It is strange because a few months before, it was Svyntsytska with whom the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA concluded three direct contracts in one day, including the same videosystems for drones. Judging by the documents, the nursery teacher delivered the goods by all three contracts on the same day and received almost UAH 3.4 million.
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As for another entrepreneur from Fastiv, Roman Sadovskyi, Karina Kerimova, responsible for procurements of the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA, failed to recollect him. However, he has much in common with Kateryna Svyntsytska.
For instance, he also concluded his first direct contract just one month after being registered as an entrepreneur — and it was for UAH 14.8 million at once. The department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA ordered the delivery of 17.4 thousand plastic containers for the drops of portable mining complexes. In fact, this is rather a complex construction, consisting of several different components that are to be assembled, yet according to the documents, Sadovskyi managed to deliver the entire batch on the day of concluding the contract.
Only after the NGL.media’s inquiry, the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA published the report on this contract, yet indicated only one-third of the procurement – UAH 4.9 million for 5.8 thousand containers. In reality, there were three similar payments by this contract the first one, the second one, the third one for the total amount of UAH 14.8 million. Meanwhile, the officials in Zaporizhzhia might have concealed additional contracts for almost UAH 10 million, which is in direct contradiction with the law, Nellie Stelmakh, an expert in the reform of defence procurements, believes.
Kateryna Svyntsytska and Roman Sadovskyi (an Instagram picture of Roman Sadovskyi)
34-year-old Roman Sadovskyi, who received a total of UAH 18.8 million from the Zaporizhzhia RSA in several months, was registered as an entrepreneur in Berdychiv, the Zhytomyr region, but lives in Fastiv. He used to work at the railway service, but several years ago, he started working at a local office of Nova Poshta.
He seems to have romantic relations with Kateryna Svyntsytska, which he demonstrates in social networks.
In the past six months, this couple from Fastiv has sold defence-related goods to the Zaporizhzhia RSA for a total amount of almost UAH 25 million. And they did it without leaving the main place of occupation.
Roman Sadovskyi ignored multiple requests of NGL.media for comments.
Karina Kerimova, responsible for procurements of the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA, told NGL.media that she didn’t investigate contractors prior to concluding contracts with them.
“I don’t have this possibility to see into what people deal with. I am interested only in the status of a sole entrepreneur, his having required KVED, the price and quality of the goods,” she explained.
NGL.media found out that in addition to Svyntsytska and Sadovskyi, the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA has at least two more contractors from Fastiv, who are related to each other.
This is 25-year-old Alina Virnyk, who has been a sole entrepreneur only for five months but has already sold goods for servicemen to the Zaporizhzhia RSA for UAH 9.2 million. She also received her first contract for UAH 5.6 million for components for mine drops from drones one month after the registration and supplied the delivery to Zaporizhzhia on the same day. The report about this agreement was published by the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA only after NGL.media’s inquiry. And this March, Virnyk sold equipment for unmanned systems for UAH 3.5 million.
Alina Virnyk (a picture from VKontakte)
In her written comment to NGL.media, Virnyk has confirmed that she is working with the department in Zaporizhzhia. “I was just sending commercial proposals to different military administrations and regiments, and the Zaporizhzhia military administration responded to it, so an agreement on supplies was concluded,” she explained and refused to answer the rest of the questions because of “the specifics of the activity”.
The other resident of Fastiv is 32-year-old Valerii Bileka, a stepbrother of Alina Virnyk, who also became a sole entrepreneur just a few months ago and started working only with the Zaporizhzhia RSA. He concluded his first contract for the amount of UAH 5.2 million 11 days after being registered as a sole entrepreneur. In several months, Bileka and Virnyk received defence contracts for UAH 19.5 million and, judging by documents, they always delivered the goods on the day of signing contracts.
Valerii Bileka refused to talk to NGL.media. In response to the assumption that he and his stepsister were straw parties, he just made a rhetorical remark, “Who would give you this information? You people are funny.”
Valerii Bileka is correct about concealing information. The matter is that most agreements which he or other sole entrepreneurs have made are not available on the portal of electronic procurements, Prozorro. We managed to calculate the amounts of contracts only using the portal for public finance management.
“The practice of direct procurements by local government authorities for military regiments is normal, but the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA does not have a status of the contractor in the sphere of defence the comprehensive list of state contractors in the sphere of defence is stated in the government’s resolution “Issue of defence procurements” , so the reports about such contracts should be published within three working days after their conclusion,” Nellie Stelmakh, the expert in the reform of defence procurements, explains. “If a local government authority violates this term, there comes administrative responsibility for а delayed disclosure of the information about the procurements; the fine is imposed on the official or authorised persons of the purchaser: UAH 1.7 thousand for the first violation and UAH 3.4 thousand for each subsequent violation during the year . If the report is not published at all, it may be interpreted as negligence, which entails criminal responsibility.”
The department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA didn’t explain the reasons for concealing the contracts. However, after NGL.media sent an official inquiry, the direct contracts indicated in the report were published on Prozorro portal without any explanations.
NGL.media analysed only the contracts concluded with sole entrepreneurs, but the department of defence work of the Zaporizhzhia RSA concludes hundreds of agreements for billions of hryvnias. According to the data of the Clarity Project, last year, the department spent almost UAH 2.2 billion in this way and over UAH 1.6 billion – just in four months of this year.
Maksym Halutskyi neither responded to the request of NGL.media about comments nor answered any inquiries.
The author Yelyzaveta Chyp, editor Oleh Onysko, translation Nelya Plakhota, cover Viktoria Demchuk