Mykolaiv RMA purchased logs to strengthen fortifications three times more expensive than market prices - "Nashi Hroshi"
According to investigative journalists, the cost of pine logs used for the construction of fortifications, including delivery, should have been 3,900-4,400 UAH per cubic metre for Mykolaiv. However, in the estimates of the Mykolaiv Regional Military Administration, the price is three times higher - UAH 11,400.
This is stated in the material of the publication "Nashi Hroshi", Censor.NET reports.
Prozorro published data on fortification contracts worth UAH 26.4 billion. Throughout 2023, there were only UAH 0.6 billion worth of fortification orders. Orders started in mid-February 2024 when the situation in Avdiivka became critical.
"It is known that some regions conducted their procurement for the construction of fortifications not in their regions, but in regions close to the frontline and Russia. For example, the Ternopil RMA signed contracts for construction in the Sumy region. Our analysis concerns only the price of construction materials and does not address the possibility of embezzlement through non-performance or incomplete performance of paid work," the authors note.
The journalists analyzed the building materials that were included in the estimates of most customers and made a plaque for each of these products. The winner for each product received 5 points, the vice-champion - 4 points, the third place - 3 points, the fourth - 2 points, and the fifth - 1 point. The top customers were those who had the most popular building materials at the highest price.
It is noted that the estimates available to us did not include the same building materials in all the facilities. But perhaps they were in others that we did not have access to.
Procurement of building materials
The journalists note that different customers have different prices, some are very high and some are absolutely market prices. There is no "programmatic" corruption when all customers have equally inflated prices for certain construction materials.
For many of the fortifications, 20 mm thick steel cables were ordered. The most expensive and cheapest orders were from the Volyn RMA. The price ranged from 144 to 223 UAH/m. Sumy, Ternopil, Kherson RMA, and the Eastern Directorate of the Ministry of Defence fell between these prices.
The prices do not differ significantly from the market prices - UAH 153-169 per meter. This is due to the fact that construction was ordered very abruptly and in a hurry. As a result, certain construction materials could indeed be in short supply in certain regions.
The situation is the same with concrete products. When all regional administrations started ordering slabs, blocks, and floors, not all concrete plants could produce some products according to the requirements of the General Staff due to the lack of certain certificates, etc. This could also allow certain producers to impose price dictates in the face of shortages, Nashi Hroshi noted.
For example, reinforced concrete structures for command and observation posts for the Donetsk Recovery Service cost UAH 1.2 million each, while the Khmelnytsky Regional State Administration paid half that amount - UAH 0.6 million.
Price difference
"Mykolaiv RMA has fortification contracts worth almost UAH 500 million. We know about the prices of construction materials for the three most expensive objects: UAH 161 million, UAH 28 million, and UAH 27 million. Using the example of the estimate for the construction of Vynohradne barriers worth UAH 28 million, it is quite obvious that the margin is present everywhere," the article says.
Gabions for military use measuring 1x1x2m and worth UAH 0.3 million were valued at UAH 6,600 per piece. Whereas in Chernihiv they cost UAH 3,300, and in Volyn - UAH 3,000. And gabions measuring 1x1x1 meter in Mykolaiv cost UAH 2,100 per piece, compared to UAH 1,400-1,800 in all other regional administrations.
The Volyn RMA submitted contracts worth UAH 3 billion to Prozorro. The price of metal mesh was UAH 336 per square, compared to UAH 316 in Mykolaiv region. For all other customers, the price of mesh ranged from UAH 185 to UAH 239. All this excludes delivery.
Purchase of logs
The authors note that the state seizes logs from state forestry enterprises for the needs of the Armed Forces. In the first quarter of this year, the wood was taken at a price of UAH 1,700 to 2,600 per cubic meter including VAT, depending on the diameter of the logs and the quality class of the wood (B, C, D).
The most obvious difference with the prices in the estimates of the State Reconstruction Fund in the Sumy region, where logs are listed at UAH 1,752, is that Mykolaiv logs are almost seven times more expensive (UAH 11,400). The price of wood in the contracts of the Sumy Regional State Administration (UAH 2,800) and Chernihiv Regional State Administration (UAH 3,540) is also at the market level.
"Mykolaiv timber is almost three times more expensive than the prices Nashi Hroshi found in the ProZorro system. For example, in April, two military units ordered logs worth hundreds of millions of hryvnias at UAH 4,236-4,320 per cubic meter. Moreover, even in the scandalous contracts of the Kharkiv Regional State Administration, the wood is half the price of the Mykolaiv estimate. ... The price of wood is in the range of UAH 4,800 to 5,600 per cubic meter," the journalists added.
The logs from the Khmelnytskyi SFE were twice as expensive as the market price - UAH 7,800 per cubic meter. At the same time, the Khmelnytskyi SFE included in the estimate the delivery at UAH 8,598 per cubic meter over a distance of 1,013 kilometers (this corresponds to the distance between Khmelnytskyi and Donetsk region). As a result, the Khmelnytsky timber for the fortifications cost UAH 16,400 per cubic meter. This is many times higher than the market price.
At the same time, Kurakhivka CMA in the Donetsk region recently ordered roundwood from Liman Forestry at UAH 3,300 per cubic meter, including delivery to the frontline area.
"Well, and ask the Volyn RMA how logs can cost from 7,900 to 9,000 hryvnias in a forested region far from the front line. And why the Eastern Directorate of the Ministry of Defence's budget includes prices of UAH 10,080 per cubic meter. This is quite within the power of the Temporary Investigation Commission of the Verkhovna Rada, which was established this week," Nashi Hroshi notes.
Dragon's teeth
In stores, the barrier pyramids are sold for UAH 1,390 per piece including VAT. Other customers ordered them this year on Prozorro at prices ranging from UAH 958 in the Chernihiv region to UAH 1,542 in the Donetsk region with delivery.
"In the fortification estimates, we saw the most expensive pyramids at UAH 1,740 per piece in the Chernihiv Regional State Administration. One of the Chernihiv estimates worth UAH 14 million includes 3,200 such pyramids worth UAH 8 million. Thus, if they had been purchased at least three hundred hryvnias cheaper, the savings on this contract alone could have been more than UAH 1 million.
Chernihiv officials also set the most expensive delivery of the pyramids from the manufacturer to the installation site at UAH 3 per kilometer. While the Volyn RMA for the platoon-support point "XXX" took into account the delivery of "dragon's teeth" at about UAH 2 per km. And the Eastern Directorate of the Ministry of Defence for the facility in Sumy region - at UAH 1.1 per km," the journalists said.
