Businessman Sokolov, in whose home live crocodile was found, says they are trying to make him scapegoat. VIDEO
Businessman Vladyslav Sokolov, whose name has been mentioned in reports concerning irregularities during the construction of protective structures for energy facilities in the Kyiv region, has commented on the situation.
He made the statement in a video address, according to Censor.NET.
Details
He confirmed that he is the head of a company specialising in the wholesale trade of ferrous metal products.
"In November 2025, I was invited by Mykola Kalashnyk, who at that time held the post of head of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, to participate in the implementation of the ‘Resilience Plan’ in the Kyiv region," he said.
His companies were involved in the design and construction of protective structures for substations in Novi Petrivtsi and Borodianka.
According to Sokolov, the work was carried out in three shifts and completed within three weeks (by the end of December). The facilities were subsequently shown to representatives of the President’s Office and foreign delegations.
"Kalashnyk reaped political dividends, yet not a single kopeck was paid either for the materials supplied or for the work carried out. In March 2026, Kalashnyk said that he would only be able to pay for the work once the level of protection had been raised to level two, which involves the construction of a 60 cm thick concrete shield. This protects not only against UAVs but also against ballistic projectiles," he explained.
The entrepreneur also said that Kalashnyk had proposed installing protective structures at a further 26 transformer substations in the Kyiv region.
In April 2026, according to Sokolov, Kalashnyk stated that, in order to implement the ‘Resilience Plan’, urgent protection measures were required for cogeneration plants in the Kyiv region, but without any advance payments or contracts.
He added that they managed to complete the work in eight days, but were not paid for the materials or labour.
"During 2026, we protected 34 cogeneration plants in the Kyiv region. Physical protection was provided for 30 PS-35 transformer substation sites; 69 turret towers were manufactured and installed; 16 electronic warfare towers were built in the Exclusion Zone; and a 52-metre tower was erected in the Yahotyn district. To date, nothing has been paid for any of this," says Sokolov.
At the same time, the new head of the Regional Military Administration, Tkachenko, according to the entrepreneur, said that "he personally had not promised anything".
In May 2026, work began on the construction of protective structures at substations, worth 2.1 billion hryvnias. In June, the main contractor and the design organisation received an advance payment of 580 million hryvnias. Sokolov, as a supplier of rolled metal, received 160 million hryvnias in advance, although he supplied materials worth 726 million hryvnias.
This amount was insufficient, but everything was delivered on time, the businessman added.
And from August 2026, in order to carry out this project, he was forced to take on the responsibility of supplying concrete to the sites.
"From October, I took on the supply of electrical equipment and settlements with subcontractors. In just one year, materials worth 726 million hryvnias were supplied to the substations, which is four times the amount of the advance payment," said Sokolov.
Sokolov cited figures from the Department of Regional Development, according to which the average completion rate of the facilities stands at 59 per cent, whilst the advance payment rate is 36 per cent. The funding shortfall amounts to around 500 million hryvnias.
Searches
Sokolov noted that on 16 October, the SSU carried out searches at his home and workplace, during which property and funds were seized.
In the businessman’s view, the law enforcement agencies’ actions are unfounded.
"Kalashnyk, together with his officials from the SSU, has launched a smear campaign against me. It is aimed at making me a scapegoat in connection with the critical situation in the energy sector in the Kyiv region," Sokolov believes.
The businessman also claims that a meeting was subsequently held at the Ministry of Infrastructure, during which Kalashnyk allegedly stated that "this is only the beginning".
"And if we do not complete the work at all sites at our own expense by 15 November, there will be a ‘sequel’," said Sokolov.
What led up to this?
Earlier, a video was published online showing a luxurious penthouse in the capital, which is linked to Vladyslav Sokolov, a businessman from Dnipro.
His name features in journalistic reports about possible abuses during the construction of protective structures for energy facilities in the Kyiv region.
