Hundreds of Millions from the Budget for Local Government Advertising During the War Instead of Supporting the Armed Forces

The Dozorro team has been monitoring the procurement of advertising services on Prozorro since 2020. We analyze procurements under the specific classification code 79340000-9 Advertising and marketing services, using relevant keywords.

During the first year of the full-scale invasion (February 24, 2022 – February 24, 2023), advertising costs totaled UAH 262 million. In the calendar year 2022, almost half as much was spent on advertising through Prozorro compared to the pre-war year 2021 — UAH 225 million versus UAH 441 million. Instead, in 2023 and 2024, this amount increased. In just under seven months of 2024, agreements totaling UAH 362 million have already been concluded.

The overall trends remain unchanged. The most popular services are:

•       services to cover the results of their activities;
•       development and placement of information materials on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Tik-Tok), on billboards, radio and television;
•       conducting advertising campaigns.

Almost 72% of the total amount falls on two regions: Kyiv (UAH 178 million) and Dnipropetrovsk (UAH 86 million). However, the Kyiv region has a higher indicator due to state banks’ advertising procurement, which accounts for 61% of the region’s total expenses:

• PrivatBank (UAH 57 million),
• Oshchadbank (UAH 28 million)
• Ukrgasbank (UAH 15.9 million)
• Ukreximbank (UAH 6.6 million)

They are registered in the capital and are not considered procuring entities under the Law “On Public Procurement.” Such state-owned companies either report their procurements to Prozorro or conduct simplified procurement processes.

State banks mainly ordered the placement of informational and advertising materials in mass media, radio, and television, as well as PR campaign services, creation of communication strategies, SEO optimization, and SMM promotion.

Therefore, excluding banks, contracts signed in the Kyiv region this year total UAH 70.1 million

The Vinnytsia region, with a total of UAH 10 million, is also among the top three. It spent the most on advertising:

• Vinnytsia City Council — UAH 2.4 million (these funds were directed toward covering the activities of the City Council and its enterprises on television and in the mass media);
• Security Police Department in the Vinnytsia region — UAH 1.7 million (for outdoor advertising placement and a context-media advertising campaign);
• Vinnytsia Regional State Administration and its subordinate institutions — UAH 800,000 (for coverage of activities).

The Dnipropetrovsk region leads in advertising spending among city councils

There are three city councils in the Dnipropetrovsk region that spent the most on advertising through Prozorro.

Dnipro — UAH 46.2 million

The City Council of Dnipro is the top spender on advertising services. In just seven months of 2024, the total amount of concluded contracts exceeded UAH 46 million. In Dnipro, advertising services were ordered by 12 different departments and municipal enterprises.

 The largest amount was contracted by ME “Organizational Analytical Service” — UAH 26 million. The company’s primary purpose is to manage relations with the public and mass media. This year, it procured services for placing information about the city council’s activities on radio, television, and print media. In the first half of 2024, the municipal enterprise managed to conclude eight contracts.

Three of these contracts are for online media coverage, totaling UAH 11.1 million:

1. In January, the first contract, worth UAH 4.3 million, was awarded to Private Entrepreneur Oleksandr Ihorovych Khrapko for placing information on websites obozrevatel.com, rbc.ua, opentv.media, dnepr.infocentr.tvnashemisto.dp.ua, dp.vgorode.ua, dnepr.express, gorod.dp.ua056.ua, glavnoe.dp.ua, and region.dp.ua.
2. In April, the municipal enterprise concluded another contract for placing information in online media (the same ones, by the way) for UAH 3.5 million, this time with IT Media Dnipro LLC, the sole participant in the procurement.
3. And the third, in July, was with Private Entrepreneur Mykyta Oleksandrovych Skrypnichenko for UAH 3.3 million.

Two agreements for placing advertising on the radio, totaling UAH 7 million. The first, in January, was with Private Entrepreneur Oleksandr Ihorovych Khrapko for UAH 4.3 million. The second for UAH 2.7 million with IT Media Dnipro LLC in July.

2 contracts for placement of information in newspapers “Dnepr Vecherny”, “Visti Prydniprovia” and “Nashe Misto” received UAH 6.4 million from newspaper “Nashe Misto” LLC in January and July.

Another contract for coverage on TV channels “Channel 11” and “Vidktytyi” for UAH 2.4 million concluded with IQ Digital Group LLC.

The rest of the amount falls on other departments and municipal enterprises, such as:

•   ME “Dnipro City Television Studio” spent UAH 3.8 million: nearly UAH 3 million for the production and placement of information on billboards and an additional UAH 800,000 for SMM;
•   Department of Public Works and Infrastructure — UAH 3.2 million;
•   Department of Humanitarian Policy — UAH 3.1 million ;
•   Department of Transport and Transport Infrastructure — UAH 2.5 million;
•   Department of Social Policy — UAH 2.4 million;
•   The Department of Public Health — UAH 2.1 million .

Kryvyi Rih — UAH 18.3 million

Almost all of the City Council’s advertising costs are incurred by the Kryvyi Rih City Development Institute.

In February, it concluded a contract with NOVA Television and Radio Company LLC totalling UAH 12.6 million. For these funds, the contractor is required to highlight information on safety and protection for residents, the implementation of social and humanitarian programs, and the work of authorities. We are talking about 2,000 minutes on radio stations “Radio Piatnytsia”, “Radio Chanson”, “Horod FM” (“Megapolis”), “Radio Kryvbas”, “Perets FM”, “Stilnoe” and 5,250 minutes on two TV channels: “First City” and “OTV”.

Another UAH 5.5 million will be used to inform the population about the activities of the city council in the press and the Internet. In particular, on the Internet resources “Kryvbas Online,” “Pulse: News, Facts, Comments,” “1 Pershyi Miskyi.KR,” “Informator” and in the printed editions “Pulse: News, Facts, Comments,” “Moia Gazeta Domashnia,” “Vechir,” and “Vik. Visnyk Kryvbasu.” The contract was awarded to Kryvbas Online Information Agency LLC.

Kamianske — UAH 12 million

 Advertising services in the community were procured by approximately 20 different departments, divisions, and municipal enterprises. The largest amount of contracts is held by the Advertising Department of the Kamianske City Council, totaling UAH 2.3 million. In March, the department entered into an agreement with Private Entrepreneur Dmytro Andriiovych Riabov to produce, place, and display social advertising and information stories on billboards for UAH 1.5 million. In May and July, an additional UAH 500,000 was allocated to cover the activities of the executive bodies of the Kamianske City Council on internet resources naspravdi.net, kamenckoe.net, ukrtime.net, dneprnews.net, and dneprlife.net. These services were provided by IA Spektr LLC. The same firm received another similar contract in March for UAH 98,000 .

ME “City Information Service” procured advertising totalling UAH 1.9 million. Almost the entire amount is spent on posting news and covering the activities of local self-government bodies in the newspaper “Liubyme Misto.” The contractor is S-Kolehiia LLC

An additional UAH 1.5 million was spent by the city council itself to highlight its activities and those of its executive bodies.

•   UAH 600,000 was spent on social media and the internet, again with S-Kolehiia LLC.
•   UAH 500,000 was spent on television, with Sterkh Television and Radio Company and Starlight Media LLC.
•   UAH 300,000  was spent on the Internet with Pylnyipohliad Information Agency LLC.

Kyiv spends on social communication campaigns

Despite the region being the leader in advertising spending through state banks, the local government itself has so far spent approximately UAH 8 million.

The majority of this amount was directed towards developing and promoting various information and communication campaigns, mainly of a social nature. As a rule, this includes the production and distribution of print materials, placement on social media, radio, and outdoor advertising spaces. The largest share of these expenses is attributed to ME “Communication Center” — UAH 3.9 million, for which 11 campaigns were developed, including:

UAH 472,000 for promoting services in municipal open public spaces for IDPs and non-governmental organizations;

UAH 375,000 for “Syla u Vohni” to equip a separate artillery brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine;

UAH 374,000 for recruiting employees in key areas for the city under martial law;

UAH 370,000 for covering key areas of work for the city’s emergency and rescue services;

UAH 300,000 for promoting electronic services operating in the city.

The Department of Public Communications of the KCSA procured such services for an additional UAH 1.6 million. These funds were spent, among other things, to the following communication campaigns:

UAH 480,000 for commemorating the feats of the Defenders of Ukraine;

UAH 387,000 for renaming toponymic objects and clarifying the mechanisms for installing memorial plaques;

UAH 362,000 for clarifying the operational mechanisms of mobile emergency intervention teams;

UAH 315,000 for fostering a culture of volunteering and promoting public activities for children and youth.

Ivano-Frankivsk supports the newspaper “Zakhidnyi Courier”

Advertising services in the city were procured by three different departments and the city council itself. More than 70% of the total amount, or UAH 3.6 million, is accounted for by a single procurement carried out by the Department of Strategic Development, Digital Transformation, Media Relations, and Public Communication of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council. This procurement involves covering the activities of local self-government bodies and issues of life in Ivano-Frankivsk in the newspaper “Zakhidnyi Courier.” In fact, the contract was awarded to the editorial office of this newspaper. Previously, it was a municipal enterprise founded by the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council. In 2016, it was reformed into a private enterprise in accordance with the Law “On Reforming State and Municipal Print Media.”

Support of municipal and former municipal mass media

Not only Ivano-Frankivsk supports former municipal newspapers. The newspaper Nashe Misto LLC, which received two contracts totaling UAH 6.4 million this year to cover the activities of the Dnipro local government in print media, is also a former municipal newspaper. Procuring coverage services from it is not the only way the city continues to support the newspaper. For example, in December 2023, the Department of Local Self-Government and Internal and Information Policy subscribed to the newspaper for over UAH 5.2 million.

According to the Law “On Reforming State and Municipal Print Media,” adopted in 2015, state and municipal publications were required to remove the authorities as their founders by 2018 and become independent. However, the law included a loophole to maintain ties by granting reformed media the priority right to conclude contracts for covering the activities of local authorities. Therefore, local authorities can continue to support their previously municipal newspapers.

According to the Law “On Media,” a similar reform was intended to affect municipal television and radio companies. However, it is currently on pause due to martial law. The law stipulates that reorganization must begin within six months of its enactment. However, this does not prevent municipal media from undergoing transformation during wartime. Accordingly, municipal radio and television companies continue to receive direct funding from city budgets, and that is where their support should be monitored. According to Detector Media, there are 132 municipal television and radio companies in Ukraine.

We do not claim that the procurement of advertising services by local authorities is unnecessary. After all, it often involves informing citizens about available services, important changes, and other relevant information. However, excessive spending on advertising raises suspicions and prompts questions about why these funds are not redirected to support the defense forces, as was recently officially permitted.

This material is funded by the European Union. Its content is the sole responsibility of Transparency International Ukraine and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union.