Survey on seagrasses for 1.5 million: how a Kharkiv sole proprietor won the NAS contract without competition
16 September 2025 15:19
The Institute of Marine Biology of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has signed a UAH 1.5 million contract with Kharkiv entrepreneur Denys Podiachei. He is to conduct a survey on Ukrainians’ awareness of seagrasses and their role in climate change.
This was reported by Nashi Hroshi, "Komersant Ukrainian".
The tender was held without competition: the condition was at least 10 years of experience in sociology. Podiachev has been contracted since 2013.
International context
The project is funded under the Interreg VI-B NEXT program for the Black Sea. The BlueC contract (Carbon Binding Blue Black Sea) aims to conserve seagrass meadows and macrophytes – they cover less than 0.5% of the ocean floor but accumulate more than half of the ocean carbon.
What issues will be investigated
The study involves 1500 interviews by September 25: 1000 in person and 500 by phone. The sample includes schoolchildren, students, teachers, government officials, environmentalists, and residents of the Black Sea region aged 15 and older.
The survey should show
- how much Ukrainians know about seagrasses and their climate impact;
- attitudes towards the protection of seagrass meadows, which are disappearing due to fishing and development
- sources of environmental information;
- perception of government initiatives in the field of environment;
- expectations regarding the inclusion of seagrass protection in environmental impact assessment procedures.
Why the questions arose
The requirement of 10 years of experience has eliminated most potential participants. Critics believe that this artificially narrowed the competition. The Institute responds: the condition came from the international project coordinators.
Who is the contractor?
Denys Podyachev registered as a sole proprietor in 2011. Until then, he conducted inexpensive local research – from 3 to 8 thousand UAH. Among the topics:
- ukrainians’ attitude to ATB soups;
- recognition of the French Boulevard shopping center in Kharkiv;
- kyiv residents’ opinions about astrology.
The contract with the National Academy of Sciences was the most expensive and large-scale for him during the war.
Why it is important
The seagrass survey looks unexpected against the backdrop of military spending, but it is part of an international environmental program. At the same time, the non-competitive appointment of a little-known contractor raises questions about the transparency of the procedures and the real value of the survey.
As a reminder, the State Audit Service had previously started an audit of Energoatom’s UAH 95 million procurement of fireproof materials. This is not the first time that large-scale contracts of state institutions have sparked discussions about the appropriateness and transparency in times of war.
