Private firm has monopoly on military burials in Kryvyi Rih – investigation
27 February 2024 13:39
All burials of fallen soldiers in Kryvyi Rih are carried out exclusively through one private company, and the families of the victims are not allowed to use the services of others. This is stated in an investigation by Bihus.info, according to Korrespondent Ukrainian 
The city authorities of Kryvyi Rih allocate UAH 25,000 to the families of fallen soldiers for burial. The journalists found out that the local TCC instructs the relatives of the deceased to bring these funds to a specific private structure and does not allow them to use the services of an alternative funeral service.
The company to which people are referred is called Ritual Plus, and it is run by a private entrepreneur, Ruslan Lazorenko.
When paying for the services, the families of the deceased have to make two payments: official and unofficial. The official payment is about UAH 2,500, which is the cost of digging a grave. The unofficial payment is many times more expensive. This is payment for related goods and services, such as a coffin, cross, etc.
The TCC told journalists that they had been instructed by the city council to refer people to this service, but they denied this and claimed that they had not given any such instructions.
Ruslan Lazorenko has been providing funeral services for over three years. During the full-scale war, he earned millions on contracts with the city authorities for long-distance transportation of the bodies of fallen soldiers. Journalists established a connection between him and Andriy Vasiliev, director of the city’s Ritual Service Plus utility company. With an official salary of 50,000 UAH, Vasiliev and his mother have acquired many expensive cars, real estate and commercial premises in recent years.
