Kyiv residents protest tree removal in Teremky park
City authorities in Kyiv's Teremky microdistrict are continuing to cut down trees in a local park to build a heating pipeline, prompting residents to protest the work and the destruction of hundreds of trees, according to a hromadske correspondent.
Felled trees lie in one section of the park; protesters say workers have not yet reached the trees on the other side.
About a dozen people took part in the protest, including both retirees and younger residents. Police were also present — at least eight officers as of noon, though witnesses said roughly 30 officers, including special forces units, were deployed on previous days.
Activists said police used force against them, and one protester said bruises had appeared on some demonstrators as a result.
Activist Anastasiia said police investigators eventually came to the site and documented the tree removal, but said police had previously refused to respond once they heard the address — 8 Teremkivska St.
Another activist, Natalia, said the work is being carried out without the required permits, which she said is why local residents and other citizens joined the protest. City officials have said the tree removal is necessary to build a heating main, but Natalia said the city's general plan calls for the pipeline to run along Teremkivska Street, not through the tree line.
Petro Panteleiev, deputy head of the Kyiv City State Administration, visited the protesters. "He doesn't listen to residents at all and keeps trying to reduce everything to the argument that people need the heating network. We're not against that — but build it in the legal location, according to the project you've already paid for," Natalia said.
Viacheslav Kotvytskyi, a representative of Ukraine's State Environmental Inspectorate, also visited the site. He said the agency is awaiting responses to official inquiries before it can issue a legal assessment of the work. Asked why the work hasn't been halted in the meantime, he said there are no legal grounds to do so.
An activist had previously told hromadske that the official inspection report for the site was falsified, alleging incorrect tree measurements and descriptions. On Thursday, activists tested this claim by measuring one poplar tree themselves, recording a diameter of 103 centimeters (about 40.5 inches) and comparing it against the inspection report.
According to Natalia, the report contains no record of a poplar with that diameter — the largest tree listed in the report measures 92 centimeters (about 36 inches) in diameter.
Protesters have announced another rally against the tree removal for Saturday at 10 a.m. and are calling on supporters to attend.
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