Where did 180 million go: Kharkiv OVA does not name the contractors who failed to fulfill their obligations to build fortifications

After the start of another Russian offensive on Kharkiv Oblast in May, the question of building fortifications that would delay the Russian army in its advance through the territory of the region arose. It turned out that some of the contractors did not fulfill their obligations regarding the supply of materials for fortifications. The Kharkiv OVA refused to name the violators of contractual obligations, referring to the fact that this is “official information with limited access.”

“Information on measures related to planning, carrying out organizational measures regarding the equipment (construction) of fortification structures in the field of territorial defense belong to the “List of information constituting official information”, approved by the order of the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration dated 05.12.2023 No. 912, item 13.23, and is information with limited access in accordance with Article 6 of the Law,” the official said response letters from the Kharkiv Regional Military Administration.

From the above, it follows that OVA independently made access to information limited by including it in the list of “official” information.

In total, 7.5 billion hryvnias were allocated for the construction of protective structures in the Kharkiv region over two years. Most of the amount is funds allocated from the state budget. Also, 121 million hryvnias were provided from the regional budget of the Kharkiv region.

Problematic questions regarding the financing of the construction of fortifications are related to the volume of wood supply and prices for this material. According to various estimates, this could cause losses to the budget in the amount of 96 to 183 million hryvnias. The amount may vary depending on how far the wood had to travel before reaching the construction site.

At the same time, the head of the Kharkiv OVA Oleg Sinegubov stated that the contractors who failed to deliver were not paid, as the contracts are non-advance. And if low-quality wood was brought for construction, then they were not paid for it either, but returned to the suppliers.

“We receive various proposals (from business – ed.). The relevant department considers these proposals, selects them according to the price proposal, because this is the first reference point. Then contracts are concluded. All contracts are non-advance. That is, the price, quality and terms of performance are determined by the contracts. Payment is carried out only after the delivery, I emphasize, we pay the funds only after the fulfillment of the terms of the contract. I don’t care who the founder is, how many there are – we only pay attention to the fact that there is no direct or indirect connection with the aggressor country.” says Oleg Sinegubov.

The head of the administration reported that the construction of fortifications on the third line of defense is ongoing. Work on part of the facilities is temporarily frozen due to constant shelling by the Russian army.

“There are facilities where we continue to carry out work within the stipulated time. At some facilities, work is complicated due to constant shelling, where we actually carry out work hourly with the military, with their permission and under their direct supervision, particularly at night. And there are those objects (we have a small number of them, but they exist) where work has been stopped at various stages – from 15 to 60% of the object’s execution “, he noted Oleg Sinegubov.