The spokeswoman of the Kyiv prosecutorʼs office Nadiia Maksymets informed that the prosecutorʼs office requested the arrest of security guard Vadym Moshkin, who did not open the door to let residents into the bomb shelter, and 24-hour house arrest for the officials.
She informed about this on the air of the telethon.
"The prosecutorʼs office asked all four suspects to apply the strictest preventive measures that can be applied in accordance with the sanctions of the incriminating articles," Maksymets emphasized.
According to her, the investigation established that it was the guard who did not directly open the door to the shelter during the air raid, leaving people on the street under fire. His actions were qualified under Part 3 of Art. 135 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abandonment in danger that caused death). The sanction of the article provides from 5 to 8 years of imprisonment.
Also, local residents reported that not only on the night of June 1, but also earlier, they were repeatedly refused to open the doors to the storage during night air alarms.
"I will also add that in case of an appeal against this decision by the defense, the prosecutorʼs office will insist on leaving the previously selected preventive measure in the form of detention unchanged," the spokeswoman of the Kyiv prosecutorʼs office noted.
At the same time, the officialsʼ actions are qualified as "negligence that caused serious consequences." It was within their power to organize the operation of the shelter and to ensure that people had free access to the shelter during the air raid, but they did not do so.
According to Maksymets, the sanction of the article provides for up to five years of imprisonment, so the most severe preventive measure that the prosecutors ask the court for is round-the-clock house arrest. She assured that the court satisfied these petitions in full regarding all three officials.
She added that the guard "admits guilt — this is his way of protection", and the residents repeatedly stressed that they were not allowed into the shelter.
"If the security guard followed the instructions of the management, but did not report it to the investigation, it means that he is covering for his superiors. In any case, the investigation is ongoing. Within its limits, an assessment will be made of the actions of all officials of the Kyiv City State Administration (KCMA), the District State Administration (DSA), which are related to this situation," Maksymets noted.
According to her, Vadym Moshkin was already in the field of view of law enforcement agencies before the tragedy with the shelter in Kyiv.
In February, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) received materials from the Prosecutorʼs Office about the activities of a group of people in the territory of the Desnyan district, who call themselves the "All-Union Association of Voters of the Peoples of the USSR" (or the "Kyiv City Committee of Creditors of the USSR"), who consider themselves citizens of the defunct USSR and call themselves the illegal independence of Ukraine.
These people, among whom was Moshkin, repeatedly addressed letters to various institutions in which they demanded the cancellation of their debts for communal services, calling themselves "citizens of the USSR".
A significant amount of documents with prohibited symbols of the communist regime and seals with these symbols were found in the possession of those involved in this case.
The prosecutor signed a written notice of suspicion of the security guard and his wife in the commission of the crime provided for in Part 2 of Art. 28, Part 1 of Art. 436-1 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (production, distribution of communist symbols by a group of persons in a prior conspiracy).
"But letʼs not mix the emphasis in the investigation of the main proceedings. All officials whose actions or inactions may have led to the tragedy on June 1 will be given a legal assessment," she stated in a comment to Babel.
- On June 1, Russia bombarded Kyiv with "Iskanders". In the Desnyan district, three people died, including one child — they could not get to the shelter in polyclinic No. 3, because the door was closed. Because of this, the KCMA informed that from now on all shelters will be permanently open (however, this is not the first such promise).
- In Ukraine and the capital, after that, on the instructions of the president, shelters began to be checked. On June 4, the results for the first day in Kyiv were announced — 1 078 facilities were checked, half of them were unsuitable or closed.
- The prosecutorʼs office is already investigating the embezzlement of 1.2 billion hryvnias from the budget, which was previously allocated for the repair of shelters.