City officials continue to astonish Kyiv residents with their actions
November is likely to become one of the most scandalous months of 2024.
“Kashtan NEWS” has decided to remind everyone of the loudest controversies from the last month of autumn.
The Stumbling Estate
The most significant scandal can be attributed to the turmoil surrounding the Zelensky estate. The controversy over this landmark has been ongoing for several months, starting after the house was barbarically destroyed on July 19. In November, the Supreme Court of Ukraine added fuel to the fire by ruling the demolition of this building as legal. This is despite the fact that the estate was granted the status of a historical and architectural monument. According to the law, the only permitted type of work on such sites is restoration.
3 In the opinion of defenders of the city’s antiquities, this court decision could influence the formation of law enforcement practices and create a precedent for the destruction of other monuments in Kyiv.
“Vulture” Monuments over Crows
Meanwhile, residents of the capital are urging the city authorities to cancel the decision to transfer a plot of land with a courtyard housing crows, located in the city center at Reitar Street, 9, for development by LLC “Regional Development Center.” A corresponding petition has been posted on the Kyiv City Council website.
This is a popular leisure spot among Kyiv residents and visitors: the dynasty of crows, whose cages have long been a cult favorite, along with the “Kashtan” café.
4 However, on July 4, 2024, the petition signers noted, the Kyiv City Council transferred the land plot with the courtyard “for the construction and maintenance of tourist infrastructure” to LLC “Regional Development Center,” which is linked to Vagif Aliyev.
“Golden” Sand
Structures involved in the construction of the Podilsky Bridge crossing over the Dnipro have landed in yet another trouble. This time, the “hero” is the deputy head of the Municipal Enterprise “Kyiv Road Transport Construction Directorate,” who has been informed by law enforcement of suspicion for involvement in a service crime that caused losses exceeding 3.5 million UAH.
5 According to the investigation, in June 2023, the suspect, without verifying the actual volumes of sand and the costs of operating construction machinery, signed acceptance acts for completed construction works for the establishment of the earthwork from the Rusaniv Gardens dam to Perova Boulevard. At the same time, both the volumes of the material used and the construction works were inflated.
Park of Trash
In the eco-protection zone of Holosiivskyi Park named after Rylskyi, entrepreneurs are setting up questionable trade structures for selling food, grills, disrupting the soil cover, placing amusement rides, and polluting the land with household waste. Residents of the area have repeatedly filed complaints about this, but there has been no response. Given this, the applicants have the impression that the park has turned into a kind of “domain” for individuals who have good connections with city officials.
Bloody Leisure
The Kyiv police have initiated a criminal proceeding regarding a shooting incident at the Sky Loft hotel and detained two perpetrators of the tragedy. According to reports, a conflict arose between two groups in the hotel premises, escalating into a brawl involving firearms. As a result, a 27-year-old man was killed at the scene, and his friend and the establishment’s security guard were injured.
Criminal Case — No Obstacle
The Kyiv City Council, during its last session in November, allocated three billion UAH to replenish the charter fund of the notoriously scandalous KP “Special Housing Fund” with 70 votes.
6 With these funds, the enterprise is expected to purchase 1,008 apartments to replenish the maneuvering fund of the Kyiv City State Administration. Currently, the maneuvering fund consists of four buildings with 315 apartments.
To somewhat alleviate the tension surrounding the enterprise, the deputies agreed to create a supervisory board to monitor the use of the allocated funds.
Smell of Ashes
Unexpectedly, the Kyiv crematorium found itself in a scandal. The State Environmental Inspection of the Capital Region has issued a claim against it for environmental pollution amounting to 122.6 million UAH.
According to environmentalists' estimates, this is the amount of damages that the ritual service of the specialized municipal enterprise “Kyiv Crematorium” has caused to the state due to excessive emissions of pollutants into the air. Interestingly, these violations have not been addressed by the enterprise for nearly five years.
Land of Putin's Godfather
The National Agency for the Detection, Investigation, and Management of Assets Obtained from Corruption and Other Crimes (ARMA) has appealed to law enforcement to intervene in the situation regarding illegal construction on part of the seized land plots linked to the state traitor Viktor Medvedchuk.
Furthermore, the Agency has requested the Office of the Prosecutor General to impose a repeat seizure of the land plots from which sanctions were partially lifted by the Pechersk District Court’s ruling.
“Master” of the Metro — Wanted
The Kyiv prosecutor's office has notified the former head of KP “Kyiv Metro” Viktor Braginskiy of suspicion for improper performance of official duties that resulted in severe consequences and has announced him as wanted.
7 According to the investigation materials, Braginskiy's improper performance of duties led to the depressurization of the tunnel and its subsequent flooding along the section of the Kyiv metro within the Obolon-Teremky line.
Investigators claim that due to Braginskiy's negligence, damages to the city budget exceeded 138.5 million UAH from December 2023 to March 2024, and the metro lost nearly 26 million UAH in revenue due to station closures.
“Right Hand” of Klitschko Searched
Recently, prior to the events involving Braginskiy, NABU officials visited the first deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration Mykola Povoroznyk for a search. According to the permits issued by the court, the search was conducted at Povoroznyk's actual residence — in a house owned by his wife and daughter.
8 These investigative measures were carried out within the framework of a criminal case regarding the embezzlement of 38,124,272 UAH during repairs at the Kyiv City Clinical Hospital for War Veterans. According to the investigation, officials purchased materials for repairs at inflated prices.
Money — for the Armed Forces of Ukraine
On the last day of autumn, Kyiv residents held a protest under the building of the Kyiv City State Administration. Its goal was to urge the city authorities to increase next year's budget expenditures for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Instead of squandering funds on various construction projects that could be implemented after Ukraine's victory, the residents are calling on the authorities to provide more support to our defenders. After all, only 0.6 percent or 547.5 million UAH is allocated in the city budget for the “Defender of Kyiv” program next year. However, the city authorities are ready to allocate 1.3 billion UAH of budget funds for clearly non-priority measures during the war.
Yevhen DEM’YANOV