Forty schools have already signed up to the school meals chatbot «Khvylka»

The chatbot «Khvylka: School Meals» has completed its trial period — 40 schools are now connected to the system.

This was reported by the project team.

They noted that during the trial phase, schools, specialists from the State Food and Consumer Service, the «Khvylka» team and the digitalisation department were involved.

According to the project team, 182 conversations have already been initiated via the platform and 1,342 messages received.

«These figures already confirm the real demand, effective interaction and the importance of the project for the development of high-quality school meals,» the statement reads.

The team adds that the 40 schools currently connected represent only about 10% of the total number of educational institutions they plan to work with in the future.

«Our main goal is to ensure that parents do not worry about their children and are confident that their meals are prepared using high-quality, nutritious and healthy ingredients,» the project team noted.

As a reminder, the pilot digital project to monitor the quality of school meals in the Mykolaiv region launched in March 2026. Testing continued until 19 May. During the first two weeks of operation, the chatbot received three reports of issues with school meals. Two of these were forwarded to the relevant authorities for investigation.

Catering for schoolchildren in Mykolaiv

On 9 December, NikVesti showed how, in some schools in Mykolaiv, meals for pupils were being prepared by private companies, notably «Prossekko 8», which had been awarded a contract by the municipal enterprise. Parents reported that the children did not receive breakfast on Monday, and that food was only delivered after lunch. The video showed company staff cooking porridge right under a tent on the street in the rain.

Vitalii Kim, a member of the Mykolaiv City Council and head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration, responded to the incident. Following this, the Main Directorate of the National Police in Mykolaiv Region opened a criminal investigation into breaches of the rules governing the preparation of meals for pupils.

It was only in the evening that the mayor, Oleksandr Sienkevych, responded to the video, calling the situation unacceptable and initiating an investigation. City councillor Tetiana Dombrovska described the scandal as a failure of the authorities and called for the dismissal of Deputy Mayor Anatolii Petrov and the director of the Municipal Enterprise, Petro Vasheniak. Due to indications of violations in the field of public procurement, the State Audit Service has launched an investigation into the procurement of catering services for schools.

It is known that a private contractor was selected following criticism of the quality of school meals. At the end of November, the Municipal Enterprise selected «Prossekko 8» to cater for some schools in December. During the open tender, the company was the sole participant and winner, with the cost of services amounting to 14,279,658 hryvnias.

According to YouControl, «Prossekko 8» LLC was registered in Mykolaiv in 2023 with a capital of 1,000 hryvnias. The company is involved in catering, sports equipment hire, and the provision of sports facilities and hairdressing services. The owner is Iryna Stoieva, who is also linked to BBV 2021 LLC. Her activities there were the subject of a court ruling in 2023 due to breaches of alcohol and cigarette accounting regulations.

Earlier, Mykolaiv Mayor Oleksandr Sienkevych explained that the catering business would be inspected over the course of a month. At a press conference, he noted that the contractor’s violations had been known as early as 8 December, but the incident had not been publicly addressed due to a municipal forum. Stoieva, the director of «Prossekko 8», attributed the disruptions to power supply issues: the generator failed to start, and the equipment broke down. Furthermore, the chef breached hygiene regulations by leaving a thermal box open in the open air — he has already been penalised.

The «Prossekko 8» case in court

On 12 December, officers from the Mykolaiv Regional Strategic Investigations Department, together with the police, carried out searches at «Prossekko 8» LLC, the Department of Education and the COP. The searches took place as part of criminal proceedings under Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — misappropriation or embezzlement of property on a particularly large scale or committed by an organised group.

On 23 December, the suspects in the case were served with notices of suspicion. The company’s director, Iryna Stioeva, was notified of suspicion of violating sanitary regulations and an attempted embezzlement of another person’s property on a large scale under martial law. Petro Vashenyak was notified of suspicion of embezzlement of another person’s property.

The duties of the suspended head of the Mykolaiv Municipal School Catering Enterprise will be carried out by his deputy. Although his lawyer stated in court that there was no one to replace him.

On 29 December, the Central District Court of Mykolaiv was due to decide on a preventive measure for Stoieva and Vasheniak. The prosecution insisted on arrest, but the hearing was adjourned on 30 December. From 12 to 13 January, the court considered a motion regarding a preventive measure for Vashenyak. During the hearing, over 20 errors were found in the case file, leading to frequent pauses for clarification. The defence submitted character references and letters of commendation in the official’s favour.

On 14 January, the court ordered the arrest of Petro Vasheniak, setting bail at 242,240 hryvnias, and the following day, 15 January, that of Iryna Stoieva. In court, Stoieva stated that she intended to seek reimbursement for the funds the company had spent on organising school meals in Mykolaiv.

Bail for both defendants was posted on the same day the court issued its ruling: Vasheniak on 14 January, Stoieva on 15 January.