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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Oligarchs in Ukraine are usually sought in lists, TV broadcasts, and banks. Maksym Shkil does not appear there. He has no party, channel, or official position. There is one company through which, for years, every third hryvnia of the road budget passes. We believe this is a new type of oligarch: an underground one.
2019. A cartel that “doesn't exist.” Avtostrada becomes one of the founders of the National Association of Road Workers, and Shkil becomes vice president. According to Nashi Hroshi’s calculations, six founders 2020 year took 56% of payments and 66% of tenders. The Anti-Trust League called the association a cartel. The AMCU decision never appeared.
2019–2021. The Kubrakov era. 19 November 2019 Ukravtodor is headed by Oleksandr Kubrakov; since May 2021 he has been the minister of infrastructure. The "Great Construction" campaign starts. In two years Avtostrada shoots up from fifth to first place. 2021 year: tenders worth 46,6 billion UAH, revenue doubles to 10,86 billion. Together with Avtomagistral-Pivden, the company takes almost a third of the 115,4 billion paid by Ukravtodor. These are Forbes figures.
2023. Billions without a tender. The occupiers blow up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Restoration is subordinated to Kubrakov’s ministry. Six weeks later Avtostrada, without any tender, receives the Khortytsia–Markanets water pipeline for 5,3 billion UAH. A second identical pipeline goes to Boyko. 10,6 billion UAH of emergency funds are split between two former association leaders. The police will later find that sand was bought for 68–115 UAH per ton, while in the contract it was 350 UAH. Only Boyko will receive a suspicion.
📁 The most interesting part — personnel
✔️Vladyslav Skalsky, former head of Vinnytsia Regional State Administration, headed Avtostrada in 2023–2024, then returned to government as deputy mayor of Vinnytsia.
✔️Vladyslav Demidenko ran the road service of Cherkasy region, that is, the customer. He is now the chief engineer of Avtostrada.
✔️Leonid Rybytskyi, former first deputy of the state UkrdiproDor, heads Shkil’s design institute. A civil servant signs acts one day and the next day gets a salary from the very recipient of those acts. These are Opendatabot's data.
A system that outlived a minister. Kubrakov left in May 2024. The machine that formed during his time continued to operate. According to NikCenter, in 23 months under Sukhomlyn’s leadership Avtostrada received from the Recovery Agency 63,7 billion UAH, i.e., 30,1% of all contracts. Plus 23,7 billion before that. Just in 2026 year — tenders worth 49,5 billion.
Ministers change. Agency heads change. Shkil remains. And today Kubrakov is a non-staff presidential advisor whom the media name among candidates for the position of Kyiv mayor. The same Kyiv where Shkil builds metros and bridges.
We do not assert that Kubrakov personally made deals with Shkil, but Avtostrada’s best years fell precisely during his tenure.
Which officials from that era are today ready to explain how one company became a state within a state?
Document: PDF proof of the original version of the news item "Схеми роботи Шкіля: як стати підпільним власником цієї галузі". It records the publication content at the moment of the first scan, the preservation date and the source: 368.media.
