Clashes with police broke out in Kyiv over the construction of a heating network in a park
In Kyiv’s Holosiivskyi District, activists protested the cutting down of trees in a park due to the construction of a new branch of the district heating network. Clashes broke out between protesters and law enforcement officers during the protests. Information about the incident is spreading on social media.
Human rights activist Oleksandra Matviychuk reported that utility workers were cutting down century-old oak trees.
“We will lose about 600 trees that formed an entire ecosystem—squirrels, birds, insects, and plants. It will take decades for it to recover. Trees purify the air, provide shade, and lower temperatures during heat waves. City authorities should be planting trees in Kyiv, but time and again, the community has to fight to preserve even existing green spaces,” she wrote on Facebook.
She emphasized that the State Building Code prohibits the laying of main utility lines through parks.
“The community was not shown a single document confirming the right to remove the trees. The planned construction of the heating network was supposed to follow a different route altogether. All these questions remain unanswered. Instead, the police are taking people who came to protect the trees to court. But no court will bring back the felled trees,” the human rights activist noted.
Activist Dmytro Perov reported that police officers are forcibly pushing back activists and local residents who are trying to shield the trees from being cut down with their own bodies.
“Teremky Park, with its century-old trees, is being destroyed to make way for a heating pipeline. The builders decided to cut costs and run the pipeline not along the street, as specified in the project documents, but straight through the park,” he said.
The Kyiv police commented on the report, stating that the construction is proceeding in accordance with a decision by city authorities.
“In recent days, a number of posts have been circulating on social media regarding conflicts that have arisen during work carried out by employees of the municipal enterprise ‘Kyivzelenbud’ in a park area of the Holosiivskyi district. In this regard, we would like to state the following: the preparatory work for the construction of the heating network is being carried out in accordance with a decision by city authorities and as part of the implementation of Kyiv’s Energy Sustainability Plan,” the statement on Facebook reads.
The police emphasized that the municipal enterprises involved—which are responsible for preparing the site, carrying out construction and installation work, and removing some of the greenery—possess the necessary permits, which include provisions for compensatory landscaping and the restoration of the area’s amenities.
“Police officers are on site solely to ensure public safety, maintain public order, and prevent any provocations or conflicts,” the police insist.
We previously reported that bus routes in Kyiv were rerouted following a nighttime attack by Russia.
On the evening of July 31, a Russian attack drone struck a high-rise residential building in the Saltivsky district of Kharkiv. According to preliminary information, the building’s roof was damaged, but there were no casualties.
As a reminder, Russian drones attacked the Chernihiv region, damaging a gas station and a resort.
Russia launched a ballistic missile strike on Kyiv on the afternoon of July 24, although such attacks usually occur at night. An expert believes this may have been an attempt to wear down Ukraine’s air defense, a show of force, or the result of a technical delay in the missile launch.
