Ukraine says close to $500,000 in reconstruction funds for Borodianka 'disappeared'

Around Hr 19.8 million ($498,000) in reconstruction funds allocated to the heavily damaged Kyiv suburb of Borodianka "disappeared," Ukraine's State Audit Service said on May 3.

Borodianka, once a town of 12,000 people 40 kilometers (~25 miles) northwest of Kyiv, suffered widespread destruction in the first weeks of Russia's all-out war against Ukraine.

Significant funding has been directed to the town and other places that bore the brunt of the initial Russian onslaught.

After an audit of the Borodianka town council, auditors determined that there was a discrepancy of Hr 14 million (around $353,000) related to plastic-metal windows, which were earmarked for installation but never actually put in.

The auditors also found that purchasing and installing materials at prices above their market price resulted in a loss of Hr 5.2 million ($131,000).

The State Audit Service said that local governments should "ensure more thorough control" over reconstruction funding and added that the case had been referred to the Prosecutor General's Office to determine whether there had been criminal wrongdoing.

Ukraine wants to make reconstruction transparent. Will it work?

Inside a bare apartment littered with concrete blocks and slabs of plywood, construction site manager Serhiy Yerokhin points to a large balcony overlooking the treetops of Irpin, a suburb outside of Kyiv occupied and heavily damaged during the first month of Russia’s full-scale invasion. Almost two…

The Kyiv IndependentDominic Culverwell