The Mykolaiv Oblast Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service refused to share the costs of repairing the Pivdennobuzkyi (Varvarivskyi) Bridge, the scope of the repairs done, and the project’s 2026 funding with MykVisti. Instead, the agency advised journalists to look for some of the information on E-data, MykVisti reports.
The news website’s journalist Yulia Boychenko reached out to the Restoration Service with an information query, asking how much money has been spent on repairing the Varvarivskyi Bridge since 2024, how much the repairs have progressed, and how much money is to be allocated to the project in 2026.
In response to the question about expenses, the service said that information on budget spending can be found on the Unified Web Portal for Public Budget Spending.
As for the repairs progress, the state body reported that the repairs are proceeding according to the schedule included in the contract. The response did not contain the percentage of work completed.
The service also did not specify how much money is allocated for the bridge repairs in 2026. The response only stated that “the amount of expenses is determined as per the requirements of budget law and the financial resources available.”
Volodymyr Zelenchuk, a lawyer at the Institute of Mass Information, believes that such a reply was unlawful, since the state body did not actually provide the requested information. The lawyer pointed out that the Law of Ukraine “On Access to Public Information” prohibits entities from withholding information and justifying the refusal by fact that it is available in open sources.
He added that such actions can be appealed to the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights or in court.
Earlier, the Mykolaiv Alumina Plant, previously confiscated into state ownership, refused to provide MykVisti journalist Yulia Boychenko with information about the salary of the company’s director