Theater on a minefield: how surgeon Ter-Nikogosyan and former official Karavayev stole millions on fake demining in Kherson region

Theater on a minefield: how surgeon Ter-Nikogosyan and former official Karavayev stole millions on fake demining in Kherson region

Plastic surgeon and official misappropriated funds intended for humanitarian demining. The amount exceeds 6 million UAH, received for work that was not actually performed.

According to the investigation, in May 2025, a private company won tenders and signed two contracts for demining approximately 122 hectares in the Kherson region.

These areas had already been cleared of explosive devices in 2023–2024 and were being used by agrarians. Despite this, the contractor organized «demining» using budget funds.

The scheme was as follows: sappers went out to the fields, created the appearance of work ‒ dug up the soil, planted items resembling ammunition, and «discovered» them during the inspection. Then they prepared acts with false data. In a conversation between the suspects, publicized by the Attorney General, it is heard:

«These sheep still don’t understand what we’re doing… the main thing is to create the appearance».

In addition, episodes in the Mykolaiv and Chernihiv regions are currently being checked, involving over 600 hectares and potential damages exceeding 53 million UAH.

The tenders in Kherson were won by LLC «International Demining Service». The work was to be performed for Sole Proprietors Kvitka Serhiy and Kvitka Viktor.

There is a court verdict in the register regarding one of these sole proprietors, who entered into an agreement with the prosecutor’s office, which also mentions tenders with «International Demining Service». He admitted guilt and received 2 years of imprisonment with a ban on working in demining for one year and a fine of 8.5 thousand UAH.

LLC «International Demining Service» from Kyiv was registered in September 2024. The company was founded by LLC «Capital Management Holding», owned by Klym Ter-Nikogosyan. Since April 2025, the director has been Vitaliy Karavayev.

Karavayev held the position of chief specialist in the department of border crossing points at the State Agency for Restoration and Development of Ukrainian Infrastructure, and previously was the director of the department for territorial development of the Kherson Regional State Administration. He has been notified of suspicion. Karavayev gained nationwide fame on August 20, 2021, when a giant flagpole in Kherson crushed his Lexus, which was not declared.

Klym Hryhorovych Ter-Nikogosyan also owns LLC «Ukrainian Demining School» and LLC «Smart Demining Systems», his sole proprietorship is engaged in specialized medical practice, and he also has a share in LLC «Aesthetic Medicine Clinic ’Figure’». He is a plastic surgeon specializing in mammoplasty, abdominoplasty, body lift, and blepharoplasty. It was at the time when his «International Demining Service» was receiving contracts that he was talking about the differences in implant textures. The company began participating in tenders in 2025 and already has 8 contracts worth 42.85 million UAH.