In the Teremky area of Kyiv, tree felling will be suspended until August 11 after local protests over the construction of a heating network in a green zone.
Protesters reported this on social media.
About a week ago, local residents began protesting the felling of trees. “Kyivteploenergo” says that this is necessary to lay a heating network and use 80 Gcal of free boiler room capacity to heat the “Teremky-1” and “Teremky-2” neighborhoods in crisis situations.
The boiler rooms will also be equipped with installations that will generate electricity to operate the facility during blackouts. Local residents insist that the route can be changed and the number of trees that will have to be cut down can be reduced. According to activists, more than half of the forest belt has already been destroyed during the work.
Today, up to 300 people gathered at the protest. A representative of “Kyivteploenergo” and director of the housing and communal infrastructure department of the Kyiv City State Administration Dmytro Naumenko came out to them and promised in writing to suspend work until the 11th.
Thatʼs when a meeting with residents is scheduled to take place in the Holosiivsky District State Administration, at which the authorities promise to show construction permits, answer residentsʼ questions, and discuss a possible change in the heating network route.
The Kyiv City State Administration says that after the work is completed, they plan to plant new trees where technical requirements allow. At the same time, people are planning to hold another rally tomorrow, but this time in front of the Kyiv City State Administration building at 11:00.
The Kyiv City State Administration explained that the corridor envisaged by the project is approximately 10 meters wide. This width is necessary for the operation of construction equipment, in particular an excavator. During the protests, some residents tried to physically prevent the felling.
According to eyewitnesses, activists hugged trees and blocked access to workers with saws. In one case, police dragged protesters away from a tree, after which one of the women required medical attention.
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