Ukrainian electricity operator Ukrenergo faces demands for a police inquiry after paying 68 million hryvnias for a protective substation shelter that became just a fence.
Political analyst Oleksiy Holobutskyi urged law enforcement authorities to examine managers at the state grid company who selected the contractor, approved the large advance, and failed to monitor construction at the Prohresivka substation in Mykolaiv region.
According to investigators, participants in the project embezzled the state funds rather than completing the fortification. A court ruling revealed a theory by detectives that the contractor calculated in advance that any missing funds would be reimbursed to the state utility by a guarantor bank.
Ukrenergo manages the nationwide high-voltage transmission grid across Ukraine, directing electricity from generation facilities to local distributors. The project was financed through loan funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, an international financial institution that supports critical infrastructure development.
Advance payment and fund transfers
Ukrenergo signed the direct procurement contract, valued at 89.35 million hryvnias, with Kryvorizke Promenergo LLC in November 2024. To qualify for an advance, the contractor provided an irrevocable bank guarantee.
On December 27, 2024, Ukrenergo transferred an advance of 67.96 million hryvnias to the builder. Investigators established that within four days, 66.96 million hryvnias was disbursed from the advance account.
Of that sum, 30 million hryvnias was transferred to a company named Bud Stroy Postach LLC. Another 13.59 million hryvnias was allocated as cash coverage for the bank guarantee itself, indicating that the contractor funded its required financial security directly from the state advance, Holobutskyi wrote on the Censor.Net news website.
A customer letter cited by Holobutskyi confirmed that by the 133rd day of the agreement, the contractor had completed only site surveys and a boundary fence. The completed protective shelter was never delivered by the agreed deadline.
Bank Alliance reimbursement and bankruptcy
In August 2025, Bank Alliance fulfilled its guarantee obligations and repaid the full 67.96 million hryvnias to Ukrenergo. Kryvorizke Promenergo subsequently entered bankruptcy proceedings, leaving the commercial bank to pursue the recovery of the lost money.
Bank Alliance held corporate backing from Budservis Dnipro LLC as well as personal guarantees from the contractor's leadership, director Eduard Kesil and co-owner Oleksandr Kesil, who pledged his personal backing for the full value of the guarantee.
The bank initiated criminal proceedings in February 2026, pursued civil court claims, and sought the builder's bankruptcy. Law enforcement authorities have since notified both Kesil brothers of suspicion and remanded them in custody, with their guilt to be determined by a court.
Demands for scrutiny of procurement managers
Holobutskyi argued that investigating only the private contractors leaves critical questions unanswered regarding potential partners within the state utility. He stressed that detectives must examine the internal structure of the scheme and the assignment of administrative roles just as thoroughly as the flow of money.
He called for investigators to identify who selected Kryvorizke Promenergo for a direct contract, who evaluated its construction capacity, who authorized the advance, and who oversaw how the funds were spent. He also questioned how 30 million hryvnias was transferred to a subcontractor that had never received approval from Ukrenergo.
The analyst specifically pointed to Oleh Pavlenko, who signed the agreement on behalf of Ukrenergo in his previous capacity as investment director before later being appointed to the company's management board.
Holobutskyi concluded that recovering the advance money does not satisfy the company's fundamental duty to protect electrical substations, emphasizing that a bank guarantee may restore cash but it cannot construct physical shelters.
