From 5,000 to 5.6 Billion: The Rise of Kalmius Construction

How a company that started out installing saunas won billions in Ukrainian government contracts — and why its success coincided with the career rise of Ivan Fedorov.

In March 2025, Danylo Sandyriev registered Kalmius Construction, a Ukrainian limited liability company, with just UAH 5,000 in share capital. Within two weeks, the newly established business began securing government contracts. Over the following 18 months, the total value of its public-sector contracts reached UAH 5.6 billion, according to investigative reports — 1.12 million times its initial share capital.

Before entering the government infrastructure market, Sandyriev had worked on the construction of saunas, swimming pools and chimneys. He insists his previous business involved far more than installing equipment: he says he delivered complex engineering projects on a turnkey basis.

The new company's most valuable asset turned out to be neither money nor construction machinery, but business connections. According to Sandyriev, he had spent years building a network of more than 200 subcontractors capable of undertaking construction work of varying complexity.

Kalmius decided against acquiring its own fleet of construction machinery. Instead, it rents the equipment it needs, citing cost efficiency and the risks of storing heavy machinery in Zaporizhzhia, a city near the front line.

Its workforce has expanded just as dramatically. The company's earliest tender documents listed only five employees. Its average headcount was 37 in 2025 and 115 in the first half of 2026.

In a written response to questions from our newsroom, Sandyriev now claims the company has approximately 680 employees on its payroll. He provided no documents to substantiate that figure. The latest available financial statements report an average workforce of 115 for the first half of 2026 — almost six times fewer than the current headcount claimed by the director, although the figures refer to different periods.

The company's financial results tell another part of the story. In the first half of 2026, Kalmius reported revenue of UAH 256 million, a net loss of UAH 68.9 million and liabilities of UAH 828.3 million. Its equity stood at negative UAH 32.2 million.

According to Sandyriev, the company finances its multibillion-hryvnia contracts through its own working capital, resources provided by subcontractors and advance payments from government customers. He argues that registered share capital is not, in itself, a measure of a company's financial capacity.

Kalmius's success has not been confined to Zaporizhzhia region. Its geographical expansion has coincided with the career advancement of Ivan Fedorov, a senior Ukrainian official.

After Fedorov became head of the Zaporizhzhia regional administration, one of Kalmius's principal customers was Local Roads of Zaporizhzhia Region, a publicly owned enterprise overseen by the regional authorities. The enterprise is headed by Viktoriia Repashevska, a former adviser to Fedorov.

In September 2026, Fedorov was appointed head of Ukraine's State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development, the government body responsible for infrastructure reconstruction.

Kalmius soon secured a further UAH 2.1 billion in contracts from regional reconstruction agencies, including in Dnipropetrovsk region.

The company also maintained its position in Zaporizhzhia. In November, it won two more contracts worth UAH 655 million and UAH 173 million.

Sandyriev acknowledges meeting Fedorov during official inspections of construction sites but denies having any personal relationship with him. He also says he knows Mykola Bielyi, whom journalists have linked to Kalmius's activities, only superficially.

Asked to explain the company's competitive advantages, Sandyriev offers a straightforward formula: a professional team, efficient management, effective coordination of subcontractors and a focus on delivering results.

The Kalmius story suggests that securing UAH 5.6 billion in government contracts does not necessarily require substantial equity capital, decades of infrastructure construction experience or even a fleet of construction machinery.

What the company has enjoyed is a remarkable run of success with government customers — first in Zaporizhzhia region and then further afield, following Fedorov's appointment to a national post.

Whether this sequence of events is merely a coincidence is a question for the officials responsible for awarding contracts worth billions in public funds.

Our newsroom has also sent requests for comment to Mykola Kalashnyk, Ukraine's minister responsible for reconstruction, infrastructure and transport, and Ivan Fedorov, head of the State Agency for Restoration and Infrastructure Development.

We await their responses as we continue to uncover the secrets of turning Ukraine's public reconstruction budgets into a multibillion-hryvnia contracting success story.