Scheme exposed for supplying Ukrzaliznytsia with substandard international passenger cars worth 64 million UAH
Kyiv • UNN
Plant officials are suspected of embezzling 64 million on defective railcars. Due to low-quality steel, critical defects and cracks were discovered in the new rolling stock.
Railcars that failed to last even a few years and 64 million UAH in losses — a scheme for supplying low-quality rolling stock to "Ukrzaliznytsia" has been exposed. As part of the criminal proceedings, the former director, the current director, and the head of a department at one of the railcar manufacturing plants have been notified of suspicion regarding the misappropriation of JSC "Ukrzaliznytsia" funds. This was reported by the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Ruslan Kravchenko, according to UNN.
According to the investigation, a contract was signed between "Ukrzaliznytsia" and the enterprise for the supply of passenger cars and wheelsets designed for operation on both Ukrainian and European gauges. This refers to rolling stock for international transportation.
The products were manufactured, delivered, and put into operation. However, just a few years later, during routine maintenance, critical defects were discovered — cracks and ruptures in key elements of the cars and bogies. This occurred despite the fact that their regulatory service life is decades long
According to Ruslan Kravchenko, expert examinations confirmed that steel with substandard physical and technical characteristics was used during production, and welding work was performed with gross violations.
In fact, the railcars became unfit for operation decades earlier than intended
As established by the investigation, the losses to the state amount to over 64 million hryvnias.
The actions of the officials have been classified under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The railway is not just transport. It is the safety of people and the state's critical logistics, especially in times of war. There are no "technical errors" here. There are conscious decisions, and there will be accountability