Kyiv residents are outraged over the possible use of oak trees from Teremky to make furniture
The “Kyivzelenbud” Municipal Association stated that the wood from the trees cut down in Teremky was not transported to an unknown location. According to municipal officials, the tree trunks are being stored at the company’s production facility in the Holosiivskyi district, and they plan to use them later to manufacture street furniture.
At the same time, the utility’s attempt to reassure Kyiv residents with a post claiming that “betrayal is canceled” sparked a new wave of outrage among city residents.
“Kyivzelenbud” assured the public that all felled timber is accounted for.
“The trunk of each tree has been marked, and all of them are stacked in several locations at the production facility of the municipal enterprise UZN… In the future, street furniture—benches, gazebos, and trash cans—will be made from it using our own sawmill. And the small branches will be used to create mulch for planting seedlings,” the municipal association stated.
However, this explanation failed to convince some residents of the capital. The ironic tone of the statement and the plans to make benches from centuries-old oak trees sparked a barrage of criticism.
Residents also point to a possible violation of the law during the felling and claim that the photos released by the municipal authorities do not reflect the true scale of the tree destruction.
“These ancient oaks should be protected by law. Those who gave the order are traitors, and those who carried it out are traitors too,” emphasized Lyudmyla Kovalenko.
Tetyana Kupriyets drew attention to the number of trees cut down: “You’ve destroyed more than 300 trees! But there are only a few in the photo...”
Lesya Samayeva criticized the utility workers’ very attempt to frame the situation as something that allegedly isn’t “betrayal”: “What do you mean? This is exactly ‘betrayal’ on your part. Because you were supposed to do everything possible to ensure these trees weren’t destroyed. And now you’re making some clumsy, ironic remark about ‘treason being canceled’? Hmmmmm… Treason is compounded by incompetence and misguided conclusions,” she wrote.
Yuriy Zhukov was outraged by the plans to use the wood for furniture: “Benches made from century-old oaks—is this… what are you doing??? What do you think you’re writing?”
Natalia Ukrainska stated that, in her opinion, the municipal workers don’t realize the scale of the situation: “You still don’t understand what you’ve done, and you’re shoving dead trees at us—trees you’re going to turn into benches? You are the betrayal... No Cabinet of Ministers resolution allows you to cut down trees in the park without a warrant,” she noted.
Volodymyr Hryshchenko also questioned the wisdom of using the wood in this way: “Justifying the felling of oak trees that are over 100 years old by saying they’ll be turned into benches and mulch... Show us what kind of oak trees you’re planting around the city? You aren’t, because they’re very difficult and time-consuming to grow,” he added.
Oleksandr Radchenko pointed out that, according to expert estimates, some of the trees in Teremky could have been saved: “It’s already been shown that these oak trees didn’t have to be cut down. Hypocrites,” he responded.
The scandal surrounding the tree felling arose due to the construction of a heating pipeline in Teremky. The situation caused a significant outcry among Kyiv residents and environmental activists.
During a community meeting with Deputy Mayor Petro Panteleev, independent engineer and representative of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine Maksym Myatko stated that technical solutions would allow for the preservation of hundreds of old-growth trees.
According to him, the 26-meter clearing zone was created due to the expanded excavation pit. In contrast, the use of standard metal sheet piling technology could have narrowed the work zone to 3.5 meters.
The alternative project developed by NSAU experts, according to Myatko, called for the removal of a maximum of 11 trees instead of large-scale tree removal.
Separately, the civic initiative “Holka” analyzed open data from the Kyiv City State Administration’s Department of Environmental Protection regarding permits for tree removal in the capital. Between January 2025 and May 2026, permits were issued in Kyiv for the removal of over 38,000 trees.
Thus, “Kyivzelenbud’s” explanation regarding the further use of the timber did not address the main question raised by residents: whether it would have been possible to carry out the work in Teremky in a way that would have preserved a significantly larger number of mature trees.
As a reminder, the situation surrounding the construction of a main heating pipeline through Teremky Park is gaining increasing attention.
In Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi district, activists protested the felling of trees in the park due to the construction of a new branch of the heating network. Clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement officers during the demonstrations. Information about the incident is spreading on social media.
We previously reported that bus routes in Kyiv were rerouted following a nighttime attack by Russia.
