20 October 2025
(Vysokopil hub institution of general secondary education. PHOTO: bihus.info)
In Vysokopillia, Kherson region, the construction of a school shelter was ordered without an auction for more than UAH 21 million. In total, hundreds of millions have already been spent on the school's shelter, which was received by companies previously accused of embezzlement and associated with the deputy head of the Kherson Regional State Administration.
The journalist from the Center for Public Investigations decided to find out which company received the contract for the construction of the shelter for children in Vysokopillia and why the contract was signed without an auction.
The facility is being built in the village of Vysokopillia, Beryslav district. According to the DREAM ecosystem, the P-4 shelter should ensure the safety of 364 students and school staff during emergencies such as hostilities, radioactive contamination, and other threats. The total project budget is UAH 88 million, but confirmed funding already exceeds UAH 111.7 million.
Autointerstroy LLC was awarded the construction contract without an open tender. The company was registered in 2005 in Donetsk region. The director is Konstantin Seleznyov, and the owner is Alexander Shakhmatov. The company has already been involved in a criminal case for overstating the cost of work on materials, embezzlement of the budget, and corruption.
However, the school had previously ordered the construction of the shelter and reconstruction with another company, Global Build Engineering, which is also associated with Kherson Regional Military Administration Deputy Director Anton Samoilenko. In December 2023, a tender was announced, and an agreement with the company was signed for more than UAH 134 million in early 2024. In March 2025, the agreement was amended to state that the company should receive more than UAH 50 million in 2026.
Also in June 2024, another tender for a new shelter was announced and awarded to Autointerstroy LLC. More than 83 million was allocated for these works. On October 17, 2025, the agreement was also amended. Last year, the companies have already paid almost 56 million, and this year - more than 10 million. And this is not counting another tender for these more than 20 million, which was called an "adjustment".
Thus, hundreds of millions of hryvnias for the restoration of the school with a shelter were received by a company associated with the leadership of the Kherson region. The company has already earned more than 1.1 billion hryvnias from government contracts. The largest income was in 2024 - over 370 million.
Autointerstroy has been working in construction since 2016, and was previously engaged in auto and wholesale sales.
Thus, the total cost of building the shelter and reconstructing the school has already exceeded UAH 111.7 million, which is listed in the ecosystem. In November 2024, the same company received similar contracts in Bilokrynytsia for the overhaul of the school building, gymnasium and roof. In total, about UAH 83.5 million was spent there.
Анна Бальчінос