Kyiv is rapidly losing green areas, giving way to yet another concrete project. Under the slogans of development and investment, the city is actually being deprived of the last free plots, and decisions on development are increasingly being made without real dialogue with the community. Another example of this practice is the situation in the Sviatoshynskyi district of the capital.
At the center of the scandal was a 1.2568-hectare plot of land on the Ring Road. It borders the Svyatoshyn Cemetery and a sanitary-protective green zone, which, according to the logic of urban planning and environmental standards, should have made intensive development impossible. Despite this, the Kyiv City Council decided to transfer the plot for the construction of a shopping and entertainment complex.
The land tenant was identified as the limited liability company "Rekonis". The transfer of the plot took place without holding land auctions, which automatically deprived the community of the opportunity to receive market value for the use of the land. Such a scheme means direct losses for the city budget and creates privileged conditions for individual companies.
Moreover, according to court decisions, the company had been using this land for years without a properly executed lease. Only through legal proceedings was the city forced to demand the recovery of over five million hryvnias of unjustly withheld funds for the use of the land.
Rekonis LLC is not an isolated player. The company is part of a network of related structures, including the private enterprise Mirta-T, the companies Firma Spetstorg and East-West Finance. These business connections lead to the orbit of former representatives of the banned OPZh party, in particular MP Serhiy Lyovochkin. In this configuration, the development does not look like an accident, but part of a systemic redistribution of Kyiv land.
The implementation of such projects would be impossible without the tacit consent of the city authorities. Under the mayoralty of Vitaliy Klitschko, Kyiv has increasingly become a convenient platform for development groups, which gain access to attractive plots without competition and public discussions.
The Department of Land Resources of the Kyiv City State Administration plays a key role in the legalization of such decisions. It is through it that documents are passed that allow ignoring environmental restrictions and urban planning logic. The signatures of officials actually open the way for development, even where sanitary zones and the safety of residents are at stake.
As a result, communal land is turning into a commodity for the elected officials, and the interests of the community are becoming a formality. Kyiv is gradually losing green areas, worsening the ecological situation and the quality of life of its citizens, while responsibility for these decisions is being blurred between cabinets and departments.
