City officials continue to surprise Kyiv residents with their actions
The first month of the new year brought unpleasant surprises for the capital's residents in the form of various scandals. Many of these high-profile incidents are directly or indirectly linked to the city authorities or the heads of municipal enterprises.
“Kashtan NEWS” recalls the loudest scandals of January.
Letting it flow
Scandals have also affected the capital's architecture. Due to negligence, an accident occurred on Syimon Petliura Street, causing a heating pipe to burst, which led to the collapse of the facade of the second floor of the 136-year-old Anna Borodkova building. As a result of the emergency, two windows of the historical building hung in the air above the arch.
1 The pipe rupture was quickly localized, but no significant emergency or conservation measures were taken regarding the building.
Neglected Lavra
Meanwhile, the Accounting Chamber of Ukraine found that out of 140 monuments registered with the National Reserve "Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra," 38 are in unsatisfactory condition, and four are in emergency condition, creating risks of their destruction.
The main reason for this is the underfunding of capital expenditures for the reserve in 2020–2021 and 2023.
2 At the same time, auditors noted that ineffective management decisions by the reserve's administration also contributed to the poor condition of the buildings, which did not utilize 25.2 million UAH of allocated budget funds.
Problem for the funicular
The Commission on Cultural Heritage of the Kyiv City State Administration plans to consider the issue of building on the slopes around the capital's funicular.
3 In particular, they plan to transfer the area of the first lower station of the funicular and the adjacent slope at the address: Borychiv Uzviz, 4a for the construction of an office center and residential buildings. The construction work is to be carried out by LLC "Skif-2004." At the same time, the relevant structures do not take into account the fact that any new construction is prohibited on parcels located within the central historical area of Kyiv, on the territory of the historical and architectural reserve "Ancient Kyiv" and the "Historical Landscape of the Kyiv Hills and the Dnipro River Valley," which are historical monuments.
Assassination attempt on an official
The Kyiv police, together with the SBU, detained two residents of Kyiv region (a 36-year-old man and a 29-year-old woman) who were preparing to murder Serhiy Dubrov, the first deputy minister of health. Both perpetrators were apprehended while purchasing a pistol intended for the assassination. The seriousness of their intentions is evidenced by the fact that the couple regularly visited a shooting range to practice their aim. The motives for the crime are being established.
Plans to pave over the botanical garden
Unexpectedly, the National Botanical Garden named after Grishko came under scrutiny. It turned out that there were plans to construct residential and non-residential buildings on its territory, contrary to a direct legislative prohibition, under an investment agreement, with a share to be received by the garden itself.
4 The situation gained such wide publicity that the Office of the Prosecutor General intervened.
Entertainment for the "golden youth"
The situation with the antics of teenagers in downtown Kyiv also sparked significant public outrage. From a video shared by the participants of the "event" on social media, it is visible how the "golden youth" blocked traffic near Bessarabia, threw money around, played Russian music, and created dangerous situations on the road.
5 The young people allegedly claimed that all problems would be resolved by "gifts" from their parents.
Currently, the participants in the incident have been identified, and law enforcement is working with them to provide a proper legal assessment of the actions of the young daredevils.
Not-so-childish games
More and more teenagers are ending up at the "Okhmatdyt" children's clinic, becoming victims of a dangerous trend on social media. Specifically, children are being encouraged to create a firecracker using a bottle of "Krit" drain cleaner, water, and foil.
After a chemical reaction, the bottle explodes, often leading to serious injuries. According to medical professionals, the explosion of such a firecracker can be compared to the explosion of ammunition. The most affected areas are exposed parts of the body, especially the face.
Rubbish for the military
The Security Service of Ukraine uncovered two founders of a private Kyiv company who supplied bulk batches of low-quality military uniforms to the National Guard units.
6 As noted by the security service, the company shipped 30,000 sets of clothing for defenders worth 28.7 million UAH. However, an examination revealed that the uniforms were made using materials with lower wear resistance ratings, meaning that soldiers would not be able to securely attach protective gear and ammunition.
Time helped
The panel of judges of the High Anti-Corruption Court freed former chief architect of Kyiv Serhiy TseloValnyk and general director of LLC "Ukrbud Development" Oleg Maiboroda from criminal liability due to the expiration of the statute of limitations in the case concerning illegal construction in the center of Kyiv.
7 This concerns a parcel that in 2002 the Kyiv City Council leased to a private company for the construction of a residential building with a swimming pool for a secondary school. The pool was never built; however, later the company "Ukrbud Development" constructed a multi-level parking lot on that site based on those documents, causing losses to the community of the Holosiivskyi district of over 9.3 million UAH.
School bullying
The capital's police have initiated a criminal proceeding regarding the beating of a 13-year-old schoolgirl by peers in the Obolon district of Kyiv. The police learned about the bullying of the minor during monitoring of social media.
As a result of operational measures, the participants in the conflict were identified — a 15-year-old local resident who delivered the blows, and a 14-year-old student of a local school who filmed the bullying of the victim.
Based on this fact, investigators from the Obolon police department initiated a criminal proceeding under part 2 of Article 126 (beatings and torment) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
No step toward "100 years"
During a session of the Kyiv City Council, deputies decided not to consider the draft decision "On specific measures for the preservation of buildings and structures constructed more than 100 years ago." For yet another postponement of the consideration of this issue to the next session, 68 deputies voted in favor.
8 The motion to remove the issue from the agenda was insisted upon by deputy Vahan Tovmasyan.
It is worth reminding that the draft decision proposes the creation of a legal framework for controlling the work carried out in buildings and structures constructed more than 100 years ago, which, according to the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Cultural Heritage," have not acquired protective status. Active discussions on this issue began in July 2024 after the demolition of the Zelensky Estate.
Family "strawberry"
At the end of January, in the very center of Kyiv, in the building where Vitali Klitschko resides, law enforcement uncovered a brothel operating under the guise of a nightclub "Tootsie". Informed sources claim that well-known city figures are involved in the operation of the "strawberry" club. According to the state register, the non-residential premises where "night butterflies" and their pimps gathered are owned by PJSC "Teatralne," whose official beneficiaries are Volodymyr Klitschko, as well as Lidiya and Leonid Palatni. In particular, in the documents, the brother of the city mayor is listed as the ultimate beneficiary of the mentioned company. Leonid and Lidiya Palatni are significant shareholders with stakes of 13.7% and 19.5%, respectively.
9 By the way, this and more is detailed in the episode of the YouTube project "In the Shadow of the Chestnut".
Money and schemes
According to the head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, shadow schemes for the illegal distribution of budget funds continue to operate in the capital, resulting in lost revenue for the city.
To prevent such issues from arising, and to ensure that budget funds are spent transparently and for their intended purpose, the head of the KMA initiated the creation of a working group "Transparency and