At a press conference, the head of the Regional Military Administration (RMA) in Kharkiv, Oleg Sinyegubov, announced that more than 27 companies are involved in the construction of defensive structures in the Kharkiv region.
Corruption Risks and Transparency
Responding to questions about possible corruption risks, Sinyegubov noted that access to information on the procurement of materials for the construction of defensive structures is limited.
«This number of companies will only increase. Are there corruption risks here? Of course, there are. We have an example where we have already terminated a contract with a suspicious company that does not comply with the official agreements on the equipment and quality that were declared. This example will be considered in the ‘Transparency and Accountability’ group, where it will be clarified why, what, how. Because for everything to be relatively transparent, why do I say relatively, because, in fact, this information is classified,» said Sinyegubov.
Implementation and Oversight
He emphasized that all projects are being implemented with the involvement of the military, on the front lines of defense — under the supervision of the State Special Transport Service.
«In fact, the military are already adjusting these projects on the ground, as some say, ‘No, we need it slightly higher. Let’s go 2 meters to the right, 2 meters to the left.’ So, there is constant communication going on,» Sinyegubov explained.
Disclosure of Budgets
As for disclosing budgets, according to the head of the RMA, they will be made public later.
«The projects are absolutely typical, only the number of meters of communication passages differs. Everything else, how many structures there will be, for example, structures for fire control, or bunkers, they are all absolutely typical. These expenses will, of course, be disclosed later. All law enforcement agencies with all the abbreviations that exist in our state and not only in ours, believe me, are monitoring this. And we provide them with appropriate copies, just volumes of documents, including for subcontractors,» Sinyegubov assured.
Timeline and Funding
The chief of the RMA did not mention the deadlines for when the fortifications should be built, as well as their volumes and level of readiness. He only noted that such large-scale works in the region have not been done before and they are proceeding as planned. By the end of 2022, according to Sinyegubov, 100 million hryvnias have been allocated from the region’s budget for defensive structures and another 200 million from the state.
