Cost of protecting South Ukrainian NPP rises to nearly 2 billion UAH: contractor in bankruptcy

NPP protection contract becomes almost three times more expensive

State enterprise Energoatom has significantly increased the value of the agreement for the construction of engineering protection for critical elements of the South Ukrainian NPP. Initially, the contract was valued at 595 million UAH, but due to a series of additional agreements, its price rose to nearly 2 billion hryvnias.

Chronology of cost increases

In 2024, VP "Atomproektinzhiniring" / South Ukrainian NPP signed a contract with PJSC "Yuzhenergobud" for the construction of protective structures. The initial cost of the work was approximately 595 million UAH, with a completion deadline of 25 December 2025.

By June 2026, the contract amount had increased to 883.4 million UAH. According to public data, in October 2026, the total value approached 1.97 billion UAH. One of the additional approvals provided for an increase in funds by 1.09 billion UAH, including VAT.

The justification was the need to prevent a disruption of the construction schedule. However, the new completion deadline of 30 September has already passed, while the contract in the Prozorro system remains open.

Contractor in bankruptcy proceedings

The contractor is PJSC "Yuzhenergobud". This company has been in bankruptcy proceedings since 2007. The ultimate beneficiary of the enterprise is 87-year-old Matviy Yasenitskyi.

His son, Ivan Yasenitskyi, is named in criminal case No. 52022000000000387, opened by NABU and the SAP. According to the investigation, companies linked to the family supplied equipment to an Energoatom unit at inflated prices. The amount of the markup is estimated at nearly 170 million UAH. Ivan Yasenitskyi has already been detained.

Investigation into price manipulation

The Yasenitskyi family controls a number of enterprises in the extraction sector, including those linked to "Bugske Kariery Corporation". The Bureau of Economic Security and the Office of the Prosecutor General (case No. 70224001120000026) are investigating a scheme of price manipulation for sand and granite.

According to investigation data, prices for building materials were artificially lowered to reduce tax liabilities, and then significantly inflated when supplying Energoatom facilities. Potential budget losses are estimated at tens of millions of hryvnias. A similar scheme was recorded back in 2015–2016.

Context of the agreement

The contract was signed during the leadership of Petro Kotyn at Energoatom. He resigned in August 2025 against the backdrop of a series of corruption investigations, including the so-called "Mindichgate". Vyacheslav Stoyanov acted as the authorised representative of the South Ukrainian NPP.

Energoatom regularly explains such procurements by the urgent need to protect critical infrastructure in wartime conditions. Meanwhile, the absence of automatic restrictions for companies with a criminal record or those in bankruptcy proceedings allows such contractors to continue receiving large state orders.