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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
The Chernivtsi City Executive Committee in November–December 2023 signed contracts with LLC “Holovna Manufaktura” to supply quadcopters for the Armed Forces of Ukraine for approximately 8 million UAH, and an expert examination in the criminal case estimated possible overpayment at 1,34 million UAH. All relevant agreements on behalf of the executive committee were signed by Chernivtsi’s mayor, Roman Klichuk, media report.
According to the investigation materials, law enforcement officers are checking for possible embezzlement of local budget funds during the procurement of equipment. Particular attention was drawn to the difference between prices for similar quadcopters and the price at which the executive committee purchased them. In particular, the DJI Mavic 3T was purchased in November for 277 thousand UAH per unit, and in December for 262 thousand UAH. According to the expert review, the total possible overpayment is about 1,34 million UAH. Criminal proceeding No. 42025265010000025 was opened by the police on 9 September 2025. The investigation is checking the version that officials may have allowed embezzlement of budget funds in favor of a private company by purchasing quadcopters at inflated prices. A separate question in the case concerns the supplier itself. “Holovna Manufaktura” is registered in Kyiv, and its main line of business is the production of workwear. At the same time, the company participated in procurements of quadcopters for territorial communities. According to information cited in public materials, since 2018 it has received government contracts totaling more than 316 million UAH. In Chernivtsi the company became the winner of several procurements. According to the published investigation, in five procedures the winner was always “Holovna Manufaktura,” and the contracts were concluded between the city council executive committee, represented by Roman Klichuk, and the supplier company. The documentation, according to the investigation, contained specific requirements regarding certificates of conformity and KVED codes. Meanwhile, in some procurements other participants offered similar quadcopters at a lower price. According to the materials, one competitor offered to supply the products for about 1,72 million UAH, while Holovna Manufaktura’s proposal was about 1,87 million UAH. Despite the price difference, the more expensive participant was declared the winner. Roman Klichuk denied that the procurements were conducted at inflated prices. At a press conference on 4 February he said that city authorities were guided by market prices and the speed of delivering equipment to the front. According to him, cheaper offers could not be considered if participants did not upload the necessary documents to the procurement system. The mayor also explained the choice of supplier by saying that in 2022–2023 the drone market was in a stage of active formation, and many companies supplying Mavic were effectively engaged in importing them. Klichuk said he checked the prices of other suppliers and his own drone purchases. In March 2026 the Chernivtsi District Court denied investigators access to the mayor’s and his deputy’s documents in the criminal proceeding. The court found the corresponding motion unsubstantiated. At the same time, investigators were granted access to other documents regarding tenders, contracts, and the activities of the official responsible for public procurements. In January 2026, according to published materials, the head of the public procurements department of the Chernivtsi city council was notified of suspicion of abuse of office and embezzlement on an especially large scale. The investigation into the drone procurements continues.
The existence of a criminal proceeding and an expert conclusion about a possible overpayment does not mean that Roman Klichuk or other officials have been found guilty by a court. The final legal assessment of the actions of the procurement participants must be given by a court based on the consideration of the evidence.
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Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Роман Клічук: «дрони від швачок» обійшлися місту у 8 млн грн". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: Fraza.
