The head of the Desnyansky District State Administration of Kyiv, Maksym Bakhmatov, publicly announced the collection of funds to finance personal physical protection. The reason for this step was threats and advice from citizens after the dismantling of illegal mafias in the district and the fight against the so-called "onion mafia.".
"You are actively urging me to think about physical security. Especially after the active actions against the onion mafia, the demolition of the emperor mafias. There is a lot of work ahead. This is excellent advice," Bakhmatov wrote on social media.
According to him, the state budget does not provide for personal security for officials, and hiring guards yourself is a significant financial burden. "One guard costs from 80 thousand hryvnias per month. If two, it's 2.4 million a year," he noted, referring to calculations made by AI.
The head of the RDA proposed organizing a transparent public meeting with the possibility of support from all who wish. At the same time, he reminded that one of the previous deputy heads of the Desnyanska RDA once “had his leg broken right on the street.”.
The very next day, Bakhmatov announced that he was stopping the fundraising, calling it a "social experiment.".
"77% are ready to support the fight against 10 years of arbitrariness with likes and angry reposts. Which I consider a great result. In total, since yesterday, we have gathered one day of protection out of 365 days of the year," he wrote.
The official noted that the Kyiv community will continue to be his protection, and everyone who wanted to help will join in joint actions within the framework of the law.
Bakhmatov also recalled his work at VDNH, where in the first months he went to work with a weapon because of threats. Then he resisted attempts to raid 2 hectares of land - the central parking lot of the complex. According to him, then in the courts it was possible to "fight everything back.".
Let us remind you that in recent weeks, Bakhmatov has been actively fighting illegal MAFs in the Desnyansky district, which is why he has repeatedly faced resistance and criticism from structures close to the developers.
