In today's Ukraine, society is clearly and sharply divided into two camps: on the one hand, there are those who do not spare their lives, protecting the country at the front, and the entire civilian population, who sacrifices the last penny for victory. On the other hand - and this layer is very significant - there are officials and corrupt officials who enrich themselves at the expense of the war, misappropriating both resources and foreign aid, with the help of dozens of sophisticated schemes.
ElitExpert talked about this and much more with Oleksandr Khmilkivskyi, a volunteer, politician and top manager of several state-owned enterprises - a man who is clearly not simple, sharp, whose way of life and actions are categorically disliked by his opponents and ideological opponents.
Khmilkivskyi explains the negative statements directed at him by the fact that he is an "uncomfortable" person for many and jokes that only those who do nothing are not talked about. Oleksandr is really working a lot now - business, volunteer and political fields require time and energy.
He stayed in the country, in such a difficult hour for it - despite the fact that, we assume, could well buy a "pass" abroad and forget about Ukraine, as did thousands of businessmen and politicians who successfully settled in a new place.
Khmilkivskyi is interesting to us, first of all, because several very important stories for Odesa are connected with it - in particular, the possible privatization of "Young Guard", the largest after "Artek" children's center. The center has been under threat of closure and sale for many years: frankly speaking, 40 "golden" hectares of land in the coastal zone is an extremely attractive asset.
Wanting to understand all the intricacies and pitfalls of this story, we turned to Oleksandr. The conversation turned out to be quite frank, perhaps our interviewer did not always like it, but he did not avoid answering even the most uncomfortable questions for him.
Let's start with «Young Guard». There were many rumors in the media about your work in this position, you were even called one of the main "liquidators" of this children's center. It's hard to separate the truth from the conjecture, so tell us what really happened there...
Everything is very simple. Soon after my arrival as deputy director of the "Young Guard" DC, I encountered a wave of negativity on the Internet. Moreover, the primary source of these materials was one well-known Odessa resource, which belongs to members of Poroshenko's team - in particular, Mykhailo Shmushkovich.
The cynicism of the situation is that it was his "young team", even under the previous government, that cast an eye on the territory of the children's center and planned to achieve its privatization under any pretext. A similar "scheme" was successfully implemented by Shmushkovych and his colleagues with the Reception House of the Regional Council, Dacha Marazli on Liderivsky Boulevard and many other objects that all Odessa residents know about.
But "Young Guard" decided to fight them back - it was under our administration that the children's center was removed from the list of privatization objects, and this was a great victory for the city. By the way, this whole story ended successfully only six months ago...
But you were accused of dispersing the team and firing people in droves...
— Yes, I was criticized for the fact that I carried out mass dismissals of employees. This is the pure truth. But, as they say, there is one nuance. At the time of my arrival, at the enterprise, out of 650 people registered there, only 65 actually worked. The others existed only on paper, while properly receiving salaries from the Ministry of Social Policy. To make the scale of the problem clear, 19 million hryvnias were allocated to their salaries every year...
Who are these people? I started calling them to find out, but it turns out that the vast majority of them are "virtual". Bank cards were issued in the names of some people, where the salary was transferred. Of course, all these "employees" were fired.
By the way, when we were recalculating, we discovered that a huge number of people who have nothing to do with the children's center live in the "Young Guard" dormitory. Moreover, some of them have already submitted documents for the privatization of these state premises. I had to go to "unpopular" events here as well.
In addition, during the audit, it was found that two hectares of land in the center of "Young Guard", where the kindergarten is located, for some reason belong to a citizen of Turkey. We, of course, tried to contact the owner of the plot, urging him to present the documents and explain why he does not pay us the utility fee. Unsuccessfully. As a result, after turning to the court, we found out that the purchase and sale agreement was executed illegally, with forged signatures and seals.
When all these problems were solved, I decided to leave the children's center, believing that I had completed all the tasks set before me.
You also faced scandals at your previous place of work, when you headed the state enterprise "Odesa Research Institute of Television Technology". The institute also owns a plot of land in the center of Odesa, and it was you who was involved in its sale.
Exactly. I was appointed to this position by the State Property Fund of Ukraine as a top manager responsible for the privatization of the enterprise. Moreover, the state was going to sell it long before my appointment, the process had already been launched. However, after I was brought up to date, I saw that the company was going to be sold for the ridiculous amount of 10 million hryvnias. Moreover, it is interesting that this scheme was "lobbied" by the previous director, who then made efforts and even, allegedly, offered money to "the right people" to get me fired. In addition, it turned out that there was a church parish next to the enterprise, whose priest had appropriated 1,2 hectares of land, and several more hectares were also stolen.
In one year of work at this enterprise, I managed to return 2,9 hectares of land in the center of Odessa to the state. And I confess that it was very difficult.
But as a result, the NDI almost became the property of the Bukovel company, a businessman and former governor of the Odesa region, Ihor Palitsa, with whom, by the way, you are also connected.
I am not familiar with Ihor Palytsa and had no dealings with him. And these rumors appeared because, as you said, this company won as a result of open and honest bidding.
I held negotiations with the representative of Palytsia, this is the well-known and honored Odesa doctor Serhii Kalinchuk, who promoted the construction project of the oncology center on this territory.
We started discussions and put the object up for auction. If the previous sale price of the object was only 10 million hryvnias, then after the revaluation I raised it to almost 40 million. And as a result of bidding, the value of the object increased to 90 million hryvnias, and including VAT — to 108 million hryvnias — almost 11 times more than the declared amount!
This did not please certain people who wanted to make money from this privatization, but could not, because I was there - and they removed me, putting their own, fully managed person there. In the end, the privatization was stopped and now, as far as I know, the Research Institute still remains in state ownership.
It is impossible not to touch on the topic of criminal cases against you. This is what your opponents often emphasize.
No one canceled the presumption of innocence. Now the court proceedings are ongoing, they will put everything in its place. I will simply say that in an attempt to prevent corruption, I turned the local authorities against me in several regions of the country at once. The town officials tried to hang criminal cases on me regarding the alleged possession of land plots in the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Of course, the court will prove my innocence, and the initiator of this fabricated case will face prison.
Returning to the "Young Guard" - now the center is idle due to the war. What do you think can be done with him in the current situation?
I believe that the center has enormous potential for use in today's difficult times. I even appealed to the regional military administration on this matter - I offered to place there forced migrants with children who are fleeing the war, for example, from Kherson. After all, there are currently 2 empty beds on the territory of the center! There is gas and electricity, which the center regularly pays for, a hospital, three canteens that can serve up to 1 people at the same time, and even a public bath.
The creation of a full-fledged rehabilitation center there is also quite possible - it would be desirable. All the conditions for this are there, but the problem lies in the bureaucracy - officials shift responsibility to each other, and the "Young Guard" is literally "footballed" from one department to another, as a result of which the premises still remain empty.
If we speak globally and with thoughts on the post-war era, then for the revival of the former glory of the center, an experienced manager who is able to carry out high-quality restoration is critically important. However, it should be understood here that such a task is connected not only with significant financial investments, but also with high corruption risks. For example, in one building of the center, windows were recently replaced in the amount of 60 million hryvnias. Considering that there are only twelve houses, one can only imagine how many billions it will cost to fully restore the complex.
I would like to note that the general problem of all state-owned enterprises is that the state seems to be eager to bring its assets "to the limit" in order to eventually sell them for pennies. Unfortunately, the situation is the same with business support: neither small nor medium-sized businesses receive the attention they deserve, and public enterprises often face a lack of funding, including unpaid salaries and utilities.
You have repeatedly mentioned the problem of corruption. How often have you had to deal with her in your work?
Constantly. One of the examples that particularly impressed me is related to my work in the liquidation commission of Zhytomyr Oblavtodor. This enterprise is a real giant, with 150 facilities throughout the region, including quarries and asphalt processing plants. Despite the fact that in fact all the objects fell into disrepair and nothing worked there, the Ministry of Infrastructure allocated monthly funds for the maintenance of the company's fleet. The size of the financing was UAH 10. for each of 800 cars per month. It is clear where this money actually went...
In addition, thousands of people "worked" at the enterprise, who actually did nothing, but only received a salary.
If you calculate the total amount, it turns out that the state, with the direct interest of officials, "buried" billions of hryvnias in this case every year, despite the fact that the machines were not actually operated.
That is why I am sure that the system in our country needs to be changed - urgently.
What exactly do you put in this phrase? What specific steps would you take if you had the opportunity to influence the political process?
I once told a politician that if I had to serve in parliament, I would do everything possible to nullify the results of their five-year "rule". I would repeal all the laws passed over the years that served the interests of a narrow group of individuals and not society as a whole. My main goal is to return to the ownership of the state all state-owned enterprises that were illegally privatized at low prices.
These are very loud words. Do you think this is possible?
Absolutely convinced that it is possible. This requires only political will and a team of specialists who are ready to develop and implement the necessary measures. The problem is that until now there has been no desire or competence for such actions. But I believe that changes are possible, and I would like to work on their implementation.
But, excuse me, you yourself changed political preferences and teams... In 2019, you stood for Zelenskyi and "Servant of the People", now you are already in another party, in "Batkivshchyna"...
I do not hide it. Yes, I, like millions of Ukrainians, voted for Zelensky because I wanted things to change in our country. But the president has changed - and we haven't seen any changes. Moreover, he has recruited a team of ignorant and unprofessional people who continue to rob our country.
The Verkhovna Rada under his control adopts such laws that make people want to hang themselves - and in general, I believe that our country has never been in such chaos as it is now in 30 years of independence. And this is even with an adjustment for the war.
Therefore, today I see "Batkivshchyna" as the only alternative. For example, how can you disagree with Yulia Tymoshenko when she suggests sending already trained policemen and security forces who know how to use weapons to the front, instead of grabbing ordinary workers in minibuses and trams who have never held a machine gun in their hands?
Now, in the city branch of the party, I am responsible for Primorsky district of Odesa. Basically, this is the same volunteering activity that I was doing before. We and a team of like-minded people visit hospitals, negotiate with the chief doctors about the rehabilitation of soldiers wounded at the front, purchase the necessary medical equipment abroad and transfer it to the hospitals...
And is it true that at the same time you are closely connected with the head of the Odesa regional council Hryhoriy Didenko?
First, he represents a completely different political force. Secondly, my acquaintance with him is limited to working moments. I turned to him with a statement about holding a children's party at the "Young Guard", which he signed. It was our first meeting, after which no personal or political relations developed between us. I, Oleksandr Vasylovich Khmilkovsky, am absolutely independent from anyone, and I am definitely not anyone's protege. Friends are one thing, but business and politics are quite another.
I and my like-minded people and colleagues have only one wish – to bring Ukraine closer to victory in the war through our modest means, and also – to stop the humiliation and destruction of the country by the internal enemy, our government, which has driven Ukrainians into simply unbearable conditions.
Olena Ovchinnikova spoke
