Acting Minister of Culture and Information Policy Rostyslav Karandyeyev called the demolition of the historic Yevmeniy Zelenskyy House in the centre of Kyiv a cynical violation of the law. He wrote about this on Facebook today, 20 July.
"Yesterday in Kyiv, they began to illegally demolish the historic Yevmeniy Zelenskyy House. This is a cynical violation of monument protection and urban planning legislation. Unfortunately, this house did not have the legal status of a monument or a "newly discovered cultural heritage site", as provided for by the monument protection legislation. However, according to the Historical and Architectural Reference Plan of Kyiv, the house is located in the historical area of the city and is recognised as a significant historical building called the Manor House of the second half of the nineteenth century. This status should have protected the house from demolition," Karandyeyev wrote.
He noted that the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine had not received any project proposals for the building, and therefore had not provided any approvals of project documentation for new construction on this site, or for the reconstruction of the building, or for its dismantling.
"The most effective way to protect historic buildings is to grant them the status of a monument. We registered the relevant submission from the NGO Heritage Kyiv on 19 July, the day construction equipment began demolishing the building. The Ministry will take all measures provided for by law, and also calls on law enforcement agencies to immediately pay attention to the attempt to destroy a significant historical building," the official wrote.