The Prosecutor General's Office has opened a criminal investigation into the demolition of the Zelenskyy estate in Kyiv. It is known that the building at 22 Konysskoho Street in Kyiv is under arrest.
This is stated by the Prosecutor General's Office.
"It should be noted that in January 2024, within the framework of criminal proceedings initiated on the fact of intentional illegal destruction, destruction or damage to cultural heritage sites (Part 2 of Article 298 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), the building at 22 Konysskoho Street was seized at the request of prosecutors with a ban on use, disposal and alienation," the Prosecutor General's Office said in a statement.
The prosecutors requested the seizure because, according to the Kyiv General Plan, the site is part of the capital's historic area. Construction work requires a permit from the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine.
According to the Ministry, construction work has been carried out there for a long time, including capital construction, during which deliberate illegal destruction, destruction or damage to cultural heritage sites is possible.
All construction work was carried out without the appropriate approval of the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine. Therefore, due to the arrest of the building, all work had to be stopped.
On 19 July 2024, despite the seizure, unidentified persons demolished the building in violation of the restrictive measures using heavy construction equipment.
The location of the equipment used in the demolition has now been established. An urgent search was conducted on the territory where it was located, during which the equipment was seized. A motion for its arrest has been filed with the court.
"We would like to emphasise once again that the building at 22 Konysskoho Street is under arrest, and any construction work there is illegal," the department added.
Under the procedural supervision of the Shevchenkivskyy District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv, criminal proceedings have been initiated over the destruction of the building at 22 Konysskoho Street (formerly Turgenivska Street).
The actions of the persons who destroyed the building are classified as destruction of seized property (Part 1 of Article 388 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The fact of construction works in violation of the ban is also being investigated, which is qualified as unauthorised construction on an illegally occupied land plot (Article 197-1(3) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).