On Monday, 21 September, several dozen law enforcement officers were deployed to the site of the controversial construction of a backup heating pipeline in Teremky Park. Activists believe that the police will be providing cover for the continuation of the works, which are resulting in the mass felling of trees.
This was reported by veteran and activist Oleg Symoroz on his Facebook page.
Source: Oleg Symoroz / Facebook
According to him, buses carrying police officers arrived on the premises at around 5.30 am.
"They are blocking the community’s access to their living space. They say they’re going to put up a fence," added the activist.
When the felling began here, local residents had already blocked the work. At the time, those defending the green space reported that law enforcement officers had forcibly dragged them away from the construction site.
It has recently come to light that the municipal utility ‘Kyivteploenergo’ has filed a report with the police against a number of local residents.
Even earlier, the Kyiv City State Administration rejected all alternative proposals for heating pipeline routes that would cause less damage to existing green spaces, and on 14 September, heavy machinery entered Teremky once again.
The public claims that the pipelines were originally intended to run along Teremkivska Street – this route was included in the tender for the design of the heating pipeline.
However, the authorities decided to change the route, putting more than 660 trees at risk of being felled, including some over 100 years old.
Activists claim that the city authorities bypassed the standard authorisation procedure by virtue of experimental government resolution No. 393. However, this resolution required the comprehensive sustainability plan to be approved by the National Security and Defence Council, which in fact did not happen. Therefore, Kyiv residents are planning to take legal action against the Kyiv City State Administration through the courts.
