How officials get themselves rich during war. Corruption schemes of local authorities in Ukraine

- I won’t talk to you. Go to court. - Andriy Sadovy says to the people who elected him.

He is the mayor of Lviv. A European city near the border with Poland.

Normally he wears glasses, has a strained smile and shows demonstrative superiority to residents.

He ran away from awkward questions to the city hall, under guard, and on his way he shouted that the participants of the rally should “go to court”. In Ukraine, such advice, due to the corruption of judges, means nothing more than a vulgar swear word.

Manegeing the city for 19 years, Sadovy has built a subordinate bureaucratic vertical and controls all branches of government. Neither law enforcement nor the central government prefer to conflict with him. He is the absolute king, controlling the parliament, and has concentrated all cash flows.

Scheme for billions

I was standing in front of the Lviv City Council building. About a hundred residents have come to the rally again. They have been coming here for more than a year. When it snowed, rained, was severe frost – they wore hoods, several layers of clothing. Pensioners, mothers with children, disabled people, relatives of fallen soldiers.

They are here because the Lviv authorities have been destroying small businesses in Lviv for several years. The land plots under shops, kiosks, and trade pavilions are priceless. The authorities take it from small entrepreneurs and transfer it to large developers for projects.

Land in Lviv is priceless. Because during the Great War  the demand for housing in the city increased by more than 5 times. A large number of refugees from the front-line regions live in the once million-strong city. Due to the relative security situation, the pace of construction of new buildings in Lviv has come first in Ukraine. The number of completed houses and the cost per square meter of housing is the highest in the country.

And the local authorities are actively using this. They have come up with a scheme that has no analogues in other cities in the country. And even in Europe.

Previously, entrepreneurs rented land from the city – for their small shops, kiosks, retail spaces and rows (the so-called MAFs - “small architectural forms”). But in 2019, the Lviv authorities created a “Comprehensive Scheme for the Placement of Temporary Structures”. And instead of land lease agreements, they obliged entrepreneurs to sign “contracts of structural elements”. Those who did not have time to sign new agreements or had some inaccuracies or submitted documents late. Their MAFs were excluded from the “Comprehensive Scheme”. In addition, the Lviv authorities, through various far-fetched reasons, refused to sign new agreements with shop owners.

Thus, more than 10% of about 2,000 MAFs were placed outside the Law. And became candidates for dismantling.

Every month - the city authorities continue to exclude MAFs from the Comprehensive Scheme. The decision was made to dismantle almost 100 MAFs for last six monthes.

So the city authorities began a total clearing of the territory from MAFs. So the land plots cleaned of MAFs can be transferred to big business or developers.

The main person of the scheme to destroy MAFs in Lviv was the deputy mayor for urban development, Lyubomyr Zubach.

- If this stubborn person wanted to take a first place at the Olympic Game, he would take it. Even without preparation. He destroys those MAFs as a phenomenon, - Petro Adamyk, the leader of the largest parliamentary faction of the city, characterized the deputy mayor.

The Head of the Lviv Region Entrepreneurs Committee Andriy Dyachyshyn directly accuses the city authorities:

– People try to work and not be a burden on the state. You say that entrepreneurs do not work in the legal field. But you are the one who forced them out of the legal field. Manually forming the “Complex Scheme”.

Dyachyshyn is short and muscular, wearing “professor” glasses. When he speaks, he manipulates his smartphone like a teacher with a pointer. The Ukrainian flag is sewn on his jacket.

He is serious, speaks clearly and to the point.

From his speech it became clear that the era of destruction of small business in Lviv has continued.

The Boulevard of the deputy who is the developer.

“We are entrepreneurs, not criminals,” Oksana Panakhida, the owner of a small cafe located 4 kilometers from the historic center of the city, shouts into the loudspeaker.

A few days before the rally, I arrived at this cafe. It is a market with a 30-year history not far from. The authorities are demolishing almost 40 shops here – to build the pedestrian boulevard. This is the idea of ​​​​a local developer and city council member Nazariy Berbeka. He is financing the construction of this project, because he is building six residential complexes nearby. A beautiful area near the buildings will certainly affect the price of apartments and commercial offices. With the market nearby and thousands of buyers who come here every day, the success of selling apartments is questionable. In contrast, there might be alleys, bushes, trees, flower beds and fountains to adorn this place.

There is an economy-class cafe in the market. It feeds vendors and their low-income customers. The prices are low here. But it is clean, cozy and stylish in its own way.

A miniature mill, opposite the entrance is a national flag. The windows sparkle with various delicacies. The tablecloth with sunflowers pleases the eye with orange colors.

Simple wooden tables and chairs, ordinary curtains. There is linoleum on the floor.

Although Oksana is the owner, she works here from morning until late at night, both cooking in the kitchen and serving customers. She often comes to work with her granddaughter. Like today.

She is standing near a baby carriage. The baby has fallen asleep. She is wearing a hat with a pom pom. The same color and style - a white soft teddy bear, which the child hugged with both hands.

- My son and daughter-in-law work, they have no one to leave the child with, so I take her to the cafe with me, - says Oksana. -

Last year, developers came to me, demanding to rent out or sell my business. They said if I refused, the city council would “demolish you down”. -

There is a flower shop near the cafe. It is the same age as the country’s independence – it was opened back in 1991.

Volodymyr Kodlobay is showing us his business. He is in a thick bomber jacket. The light in the shop is dim. In addition to flowers – gift bags, ribbons, sets, cards. There are also flower pots.

Anthurium, rose, carnation. In total, more than 30 different varieties.

On the side on a hanger – a bunch of warm jackets.

- Four families work here. I have several greenhouses. We grow flowers ourselves, and we sell them ourselves. We do not receive any money of assistance from the state. Instead, we pay taxes to the budget.

The city government receives salaries – thanks to the taxes we pay. In addition to salaries, 80-100 thousand bonuses per month (about 2 thousand euros). And they  have claims against us – that we move out of this place. Or our store will be destroyed. They think about the Boulevard during the war. And they don't think about the preservation of jobs. -

Natalya Chyzhyk approached us. She was wearing a thick, long red scarf. Her face was tired. But she radiates faith in herself, in people, in the letter of the Law. Natalia was wearing  a faux fur coat – business matters do not allow her to buy something more expensive. She is a widow, her second husband joined the military himself.

Natalia heads an initiative group to protect the rights of small businesses on this market.

- The local authorities are not listening to the residents. We have collected more than 3,000 signatures from people in the neighborhood who are against our shops and shopping pavilions being demolished. People are against the deputy's Boulevard. They want to have access to quality products at affordable prices, - Natalya explained in a well-placed voice. -

The authorities are acting contrary to the interests of a wide range of citizens of our city. Approximately 70% of our customers are pensioners who are dissatisfied with high prices in supermarkets. With a monthly pension of 50-80 euros, they cannot buy food and essential goods in expensive stores. They need our market. -

Near the bread stall we met a regular customer, Yuriy. He has just paid for a still-hot white loaf. Yuriy clutched a stick in his trembling hands - a guide. This is his greatest helper - he is blind.

The man has to walk two kilometers from home to get here.

- We blind people live here in four multi-storey buildings. We have a specialized enterprise of the Ukrainian Society of the Blind near our homes – where we can work.

This market means a lot to us. The sellers here know us, if necessary – they might take us to the right store. It is very convenient for us here – we can take all the products in our hands and “try on”.

Supermarkets and large stores that are in the neighborhood are not adapted for the blind. Therefore, this market is very necessary for us, - said Yuriy.

His words are very dissonant with the emotional speech of the mayor of Lviv. A month before that, the city leader spoke at a session of the city council. He insisted that the construction of the Boulevard is related to inclusion. Because it is extremely difficult for a disabled person in a wheelchair to drive along the existing alleys.

While the mayor was saying this in the session hall, another rally was taking place on the street.

- Are you hiding behind inclusion? The blind community supports our Boulevard. We are real inclusion for them. - Natalya Chyzhyk shouted into the microphone.

And to confirm her words, blind Vasyl was brought to the improvised rostrum.

- You are violating our rights, - he said, addressing the deputies, the mayor, and officials. - This market is of great importance to us. If it is liquidated, we will not be able to buy basic necessities for ourselves. We are here for preserving these shops – we are very comfortable here. -

Meanwhile, in a stylish expensive suit, the mayor of Lviv told the deputies that ordinary residents should not decide on the issue of improvement in Lviv. Because the Boulevard is an infrastructure project – and the city must develop.

I was listening to the mayor's speech and remembered visiting into one of the stores to see entrepreneur Natalia Fedorchuk.

- My children should be sure that their mother will have a job, - she began the conversation. - They don't matter whether there will be fountains here - as the mayor wants. -

Natalia was dressed in several jackets. The store has ​​16 square meters and does not have heating. Shirts, pants, hats hang on the shelves. There is both a children's and an adult assortment.

In the corner of the store is an icon of the Mother of God.

The prices here are 20-30 percent lower than in supermarkets or stylish retail chains.

- My husband created this small business for me, before he went to defend the country at the front. He died in the war. And now I, together with my 70-year-old parents, must support the children. What do we do if our business will be destroyed? -

I walked through the market area – all the shops, trees and stands are covered with protesters’ posters. “Stop Boulevard, no Boulevard, authorities – don’t destroy us”.

Meanwhile, the city authorities have created several working groups. They say, we will look for a compromise.

From the authorities – only promises

… The working group was hot. Both literally and figuratively. The сity council is heated well, unlike the shops in the market.

Lyubomyr Zubach got nervous, shouting, interrupting people: – I am the chairman here. –

He headed this working group, which should help the owners and sellers of the market.

Lyubomyr is one of the heavyweights of Ukrainian politics. He is a loyal member of the political party of the mayor of Sadovoye – “Samopomoch”. He is also the mayor's deputy for urban development.

Zubach was wearing a sports sweater with a stylish huge smart watch on his wrist.

- Temporary structures – they are temporary because they can be removed at the right moment. Especially when there is such an important project for the city as the Boulevard, - the deputy mayor did not want to hear people's comments.

It is need to explain that according to the documents, all commercial facilities in the market are registered as MAFs. This concept is used in Ukraine for small architectural forms.

Zubach, who has been overseeing urban development in the city council for 7 years, is an ardent opponent of this form of ownership.

Although in European capitals, small kiosks, retail outlets, and shops are quite common and implemented in the public space of cities. But what do architects from Warsaw, Barcelona, ​​Verona, or Vilnius know there? Zubach is the one who knows this the most.

At the next table was the second person in the working groups. Yevhen Boyko has studied a theology. His style of conversation is calm, balanced, like that of a priest in a church.

He is the manager of affairs in the executive committee of the Lviv city council. This is the highest executive in the city. It is collegial. But the majority in it traditionally belongs to the mayor - here his subordinates, employees of the city council structures. And it is the mayor who heads the executive committee. So the manager of affairs Boyko is actually his right hand.

This official is wearing a stylish beard and a T-shirt of his favorite color - white. He gets up from his chair when he speaks to make his words more impactful.

Boyko was focused on immediately cutting off any remarks from entrepreneurs - the pretext that someone rais their voice. He repeatedly drawed the attention of those present to this. Boyko said that the city council is trying to build the Boulevard specifically for the residents of the microdistrict.

Hearing that, I remembered a resident of the house near that market - local architect Yuriy Horalevich. We met with him and talked about the problems of the nearby streets.

The architect was looking younger with a youth baseball cap and huge teenage headphones that cover all his ears. A new vest completed his creative image.

He came to the market to buy groceries with a dachshund:

- There is a primary and extremely urgent need in this area – replacing the collector. If the authorities and that deputy want to do good for the residents so much – as they shout about it loudly – ​​let them repair it. After all, when it rains or the snow melts – people’s basements, and even the first floors of apartments are flooded. This is a really important problem. -

But we all understand – that the developer is not interested in investing in repairing the collector – because it will not affect the price of apartments and offices in his residential complexes in any way.

The architect’s shoes were polished to a shine. Today the collector has not flooded.

We said goodbye. He assureed that he will continue to cheer for the market and entrepreneurs.

Along the bazaar – all the shops are pasted over with posters, leaflets, banners – Stop Boulevard. Shoppers pass by, asking how they can help to save the market.

- I am ashamed of the authorities of our city, - said human rights activist Andriy Petryshyn.

Walking alongside him and communicating requires extraordinary skill. Petryshyn is two meters tall – both in length and width. He is the image of the eternal Lviv revolutionary. His enemy is the corrupt city authorities. Everything related to the plunder of the budget – and therefore the Lviv community – is his topic.

Petryshyn is a lawyer, the head of a public organization – and a “bone in Lviv officials' throat” .

- They are not thinking about war, but thinking about the capital reconstruction of the boulevard

Officials, your task is to create jobs and fill the budget

Our demands – work in the interests of the community

You promised, when you sat in the chair – to decide everything in the interests of the people

People are getting wet, people are freezing

Protecting the rights and interests of a small entrepreneur, protecting a pensioner's interest in accessing low prices – these are not the personal interests of officials. -

… I was in another working group. The hall was full, more than 50 people, the vast majority – salespeople and businessmen of advanced age – over sixty.

Roman Zhuk, a sporty man in his forties, began his speech about turning off the lights emotionally. He said that the authorities are involving utility providers in a confrontation with the owners of MAFs.

- They came up with an idea – to freeze entrepreneurs. We received letters from the energy network operator – Lvivoblenergo – about turning off the lights. They can come – and they can cut us off. No light, no heating when frosts are severe.

It looks like he has just came from his store wearing a warm sweater on felt. His appearance was discordant with the video with the mayor of the city – where he was in an expensive Italian blue thin shirt. Well, the mayor in his office has heating and no one turns off the lights.

The chief architect of Lviv, Anton Kolomeytsev, did not attend the working groups himself - he delegated Roman Krushelnytsky, the head of one of the departments of the Department of Architecture, to the meetings of the commissions.

He said that he understands everyone's position. But he insisted - we, the Department of Architecture, want the Boulevard there.

The authorities work in the interests of the developer

I met Viktor Charnomsky near the regional prosecutor's office. He filed another statement about the commission of criminal crimes by city council officials.

Charnomsky looks fantastic for his age. He is eighty-three. Despite the frosty weather, he is only wearing a light jacket over his T-shirt. Charnomsky has gotten fit since he was a professional boxer.

He is a qualified lawyer and journalist. Such an interesting combination was determined by his former work as deputy editor of the publication "Town Hall". He has worked in this municipal for 20 years. Dissonance - "Town Hall" was financed by the city council and was the most exposed illegal actions in local government bodies. Charnomsky prepared more than fifty investigations, so he knows almost everything about criminal schemes in the city.

- The authorities act in the interests of the developer - the deputy. He needs to equip this Boulevard there so that apartments and offices in his new buildings have an attractive commercial appearance.

In the last few years, deputy Nazariy Berbeka has become one of the largest developers in the city. His companies are associated with numerous construction scandals, non-payment of share contributions to the city budget, and the construction of apartments (instead of public building).

There are a lot of such cases when the authorities act in the interests of large developers. After all, as I know, the mayor of Lviv and his team have a personal interest in this. The issue of solving the construction of one residential complex has its price - a bribe of 100 thousand dollars. -

So the corruption business is considerable. Acotding the relatively safe situation during a full-scale war, and the huge demand - due to the relocation here of a significant number of internally displaced persons (refugees from regions adjacent to the front line), Lviv heads the rating of cities - leaders in terms of construction rates. So, it is the first city in the country in terms of the cost of a square meter in new buildings and the number of housing units put into operation.

- In Lviv, there is a close relationship between the Executive Committee of the City Council, Departments and Departments of the City Council and the deputy corps - in the field of allocating land plots for development and obtaining urban planning conditions and restrictions on the construction of new housing., - said lawyer Charnomsky. - All structures of both the legislative and executive branches of government are personally controlled by Mayor Sadov.

In May, the city council deputies was again picketed

- You are pushing residents to live below the poverty line. You are taking away people's dignity. Shame, - the protesters chanted.

The deputies was going to the session. Expensive suits. The developer Nazariy Berbeka systematically changes his expensive look.

Natalya Chyzhyk was approaching Berbeka. He has blocked her phone number, so she was looking for him near the walls of the city council. Chyzhyk was wearing worm boots for winter. In contrast to the stylish shoes of the developer Berbeka.

Opposite - sellers and entrepreneurs – are wearing thick jackets, freezing and protesting near the walls of the city hall.

The action took place near the main building of the city council. Rynok Square - with a history of several hundred years, is one of the oldest monuments of medieval architecture in European cities. Today, dozens of posters and banners have been added to its historical monuments.

- Zubach is fighting with mothers from Chornovil Avenue - while their children are defending Ukraine in the trenches, - it is written on the poster of 85-year-old Halyna.

- 70% of those who work in MAFs are pensioners who do not rely on state assistance during the war. They work, create new jobs, - wrote on their poster a young family that came to support their grandmother.

In the central historical part of the city, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List, the protesters' speeches were hearing.

- We are entrepreneurs - not criminals. We are not garbage for you. Why are the interests of big business, developers more important to you than the interests of working people, small businesses, from which you take the last? - a displaced person from Mariupol said to the officials who was in a hurry to escape from the eyes of dissatisfied residents.

Voters' will and empty chatter of deputies

Meanwhile, city deputies, in the recently renovated large session hall, discussed the “petition”.

In Ukraine, this is a collective appeal of people to a government, demanding that certain actions be taken. There is a special electronic portal in Lviv. The author registers the appropriate appeal. If more than 500 people vote “yes” within two months, the government to which the appeal is addressed is obliged to consider the residents' demands.

In this case, Lviv residents signed a petition – for a ban on the construction of the Boulevard during the war and the preservation of workplaces.

The deputies began their speeches.

On the one hand, they insisted that there should be an inclusive space. On the other hand, “let’s preserve small businesses and workplases.”

This is also said by Andriyan Hutnyk, a politician-businessman who opened the only aqua park in Lviv.

Viktoriya Dovzhyk, from the mayor’s party, agreed with him.

- We need to offer people alternative places to do business, move their MAFs to another place. People need to be offered an alternative, provide people with the opportunity to work and feed their families, - said Dovzhyk, one of the key members of the Sadovoye mayor’s management team.

Deputy Roman Fedyshyn also talked about how hard it is for small entrepreneurs to work. He knows what he is talking about - because he is the owner of the largest wholesale market in Lviv.

The professional solidarity of deputy Vitaliy Prots probably “spoke”. After all, he is also the owner of a small business. He was indignant and spoke in a raised tone.

- Everything is based on principle. They want to forcefully push through this Boulevard. No one is going to negotiate with residents and kiosk owners. Despite the fact that they should first of all provide small entrepreneurs with the opportunity to work, - Prots reminded his colleagues.

Then the floor was given to a representative of entrepreneurs from the bazaar.

Natalya Chyzhyk was dressed in a family embroidered shirt. She told the deputies that women entrepreneurs are providing for their families while their husbands are defending the state in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

- Small businesses survive. We feed our families and the city budget. -

The deputies applauded. In their subsequent speeches, they supported preserving workplaces

I listen to the deputies - they speak well. They support both entrepreneurs, sellers, and buyers. It comes to a vote - the total majority votes for Boulevard.

The comedy is over - the actors disperse.

Dozens of special forces, batons and tear gas

The described story with the owners of MAFs in the market is one of many in Lviv. The authorities are harshly demolishing shops and kiosks. So in April, in the Frankivskyi district, where there is active apartment building, the authorities begin to demolish MAFs.

On Yevhen Konovalets Street - screams, quarrels and crying of old people. City council employees took more than a dozen “municipals” here - strong, stocky guys from the “Municipal Guard” - a municipal enterprise of the city council, which is engaged in ensuring public order in the city.

The municipals were called here for helping five police crews. The light from the flashing lights of their Toyota brand cars blinds those present with red and blue colors.

Several dozen trained men poured tear gas, used rubber batons and pushed away from the store entrepreneurs and local residents who came to prevent the forced dismantling of this duilding, which has provided the needs of the population here for 30 years.

The owner of the store died, and the authorities refused to extend the permit to his children.

Therefore, the store was demolished. And such vandalistic destruction of businessmen's property is a typical

 situation for Lviv.

Mayor Sadovy’s Water Empire.

- Leave me alone, - shouts Lyubomyr Zubach. - What do you want? Go to the press service. -

The deputy mayor of Lviv for urban planning does not like uncomfortable questions from journalists. He is running away from me through the corridors on three floors of the city hall.

Inconvenient journalists have to resort to cunning to talk to Zubach. He is reliably protected by the press service, security, and assistants. So only by coming to some official event you can catch him.

Actually, after one of such open meetings, I am running after him and asking questions. He is indignant and does not hide his irritation.

This is not surprising - after all, my questions are uncomfortable. They are about another corruption scheme in the city which is directly related to the deputy mayor. The point is that the city council has begun to monopolize the sphere of selling bottled drinking water in the city. And they are going  to involv municipal enterprise “Lvivvodokanal” there. At the same time, the networks of Trade Marks of those small entrepreneurs who can compete – their stores and water distribution terminals – are “put under the knife”.

And this is in the actual sense of the word. A few days ago I saw this process with my own eyes. Early in the morning, when most people were just getting ready for work, near the largest park in the city – Stryisky – were already actively working. Several workers, involved by officials, cut into pieces a wooden shop with a water terminal in half an hour. Two meters high and five wide – but there is no obstacle for chainsaws.

A few days later, Taras Grabovych, a representative of the Trade Mark “Perlyna Zachodu”, whose store was destroyed, installed a “memorial plaque” in its place. A symbolic grave of Lviv’s small business has appeared.

I approach this stand together with lawyer Maryan Shpunt.

Despite his young age, he has many years of legal practice. As a professional athlete, he feels confident in conversation.

The “memorial” stand has described the barbaric actions of officials. Water customers can find out that the store with the terminal here was illegally demolished by the Lviv authorities. The board also has a phone number and address where residents of nearby houses can complain, who were deprived of the opportunity to buy high-quality and inexpensive water near their homes. Just a minute – they have been buying water here for 18 years. Now they have to walk more than a kilometer to the nearest store and pay twice as much.

Taras Grabovych, a representative of “Pearls of the West”, has been appealing to the city council for several years to include their water terminals and stores in the comprehensive scheme.

We approach one of these terminals in Sykhiv, a residential area of ​​the city. This is not a typical water dispenser, but a double-coupled store, several taps, solar panels on the roof. The MAF is energy-efficient, made of wood and metal structures. Fire system, video recording.

Customers can use the company’s bonus cards. “Pearl of the West” has its own bonus system. When you top up their pay card they give you 10% of the amount deposited.

Grabovich represents a trademark with an extensive network of water sales points - over 75 stores. For such an entrepreneur, he is dressed modestly. In a worn-out long bomber jacket and an ordinary cap.

No wonder - just one store, near Stryisky Park, which the city council destroyed, costs more than 500 thousand hryvnias (10.5 thousand euros).

- Deputy Mayor Zubach asked me to write information certificates, explanations. But I continued to receive constant refusals. Out of our 75 MAFs, more than 10 have already been excluded from the “Integrated Scheme”. And this process is ongoing, - Grabovich summarized the destruction of his business.

It was about this barbaric destruction of an alternative source of support for city residents in a warring country that I asked while running after Lubomyr Zubach.

The deputy mayor, before finally running away to one of the offices, contemptuously said that this was the first time he had heard of this situation with the redistribution of the water market in the city.

After Zubach, I went to an interview with the head of the Legal Department of the Lviv City Council.

Helena Payonkevych was stylish as always. She said that she gave up kickboxing a long time ago, but sometimes she runs in the morning.

She is in an elegant trouser suit. Short haircut, fresh manicure.

The chief lawyer of the city council is calm and self-confident. For all the reproaches - he has a clear position.

Payonkevych is one of the oldest and most loyal members of Mayor Sadovy's team.

- All MAFs that are not included in the “Comprehensive Scheme” are those that are located without legal documents. The City Council has the right to dismantle them. Even without a court decision. And this also applies to the “Pearl of the West” objects, - Payonkevych was adamant.

Or maybe she should go down from the government offices to ordinary Lviv residents? To listen to their assessment of the government’s actions?

Whose side are the people on

… Near the aqua terminals “Pearls of the West” – there are always many customers. One of the MAFs is located on a plot of land that is in constant use of the church of Saints Volodymyr and Olga. One by one, customers come up:

- There is no scale - the water is good; relatives from Kyiv praise it very much; the quality is better than in supermarkets; people are comfortable; I really ask that the authorities do not dismantle this terminal, – these are a few phrases from my communication in a large queue with water customers.

… A broken, cut into pieces store. The roof is destroyed, the floor is rotten.

Photo operator and I drive up to a small area, 10 kilometers from Lviv. A commission of employees of the city utility company arrived from the city council. They hide their faces from photo and video shooting. They say – not public.

On an area of ​​over a hectare, in the open air, full of destroyed shops. Various banners, small houses. Everything is piled up in a heap, and somehow closed from snow and rain. It smells of bureaucracy.

This is a place to store dismantled (read destroyed) property of Lviv entrepreneurs. Destroyed by the authorities, which should protect their interests.

Officials are obliged to keep the property in proper condition. Until it is returned to its owners. Instead, the authorities have organized a kind of burial ground here.

We approach the dismantled store “Pearls of the West” with forensic expert Roman Bochulyak.

- It is completely technologically destroyed and cannot be restored. The technology of dismantling, transportation and storage has been violated, - the expert finished writing his conclusion, adjusting his massive glasses.

Svitlana Dobrovolska has been in charge of the press service of the Lviv region police for 15 years. She always has a standard phrase for any questions from journalists – it is a secret of the investigation, we cannot disclose it.

But regarding the dismantling of the store and the “Pearls of the West” aquaterminal, she has news for me – the police have closed the criminal case. They did not find any elements of a crime in the actions of the city council officials.

So Taras Grabovych’s team will search the truth in Ukrainian courts for many years.

Meanwhile, the next points of sale of drinking water are in line for destruction. They are being demolished in Lviv in various districts. There are many student dormitories on the outskirts of the city. I talked to young people that the terminal from which they get water is going to be dismantled by the city authorities in the near future.

Customers are nervous, they are ready to protest against destroing the water terminals. Students in the dormitories told me that there is nowhere to buy water nearby. And this water is cheap and of good quality.

Freedom of speech in Ukraine. Regional aspect

After numerous visits by our journalists, we became persona non grata in the Lviv City Council. And we were put on the “black list”. At the end of spring, a bureaucratic commission, headed by the director of the Department of Economic Development of the City Council Inna Svystun, gathered for a final meeting. The fate of small businesses of selling water through aqua terminals was finally decided here.

At the entrance to the city hall, they do not let me and the photo correspondent in. A burly guy from the security police says that the meeting is closed to the press. I'm calling the media lawyer. Lyudmila Pankratova insists that this is censorship, an attack on freedom of speech and a criminal offense.

I'm calling the police. An investigative and operational group arrives at my call. A young investigator, an officer - of short stature with a simple folder in which a sample statement is prepared. She is accompanied by two colleagues with body cameras turned on.

The security policeman, who did not let us in at the entrance, greets the arrivals warmly and smiles at them. He has an order from the mayor of Sadovoye - not to let anyone into the city council premises. Even for this important commission meeting for small business entrepreneurs of the city.

The mayor can change the laws in Ukraine for himself.

I'm writeing a statement about obstructing the legitimate professional activities of journalists. In Ukraine, this is a crime. And it is punishable by criminal liability. The policewoman listens carefully to everything. Then she is interrogateing the person who did not allowed us to the commission - Inna Svystun. After that conversation with the head of the Department of Economics we say goodbye.

As expected, apart from arriving, the police did not take any action, and they did not even investigate violations of journalists' rights.

Media lawyer and head of the “Institute for the Development of Regional Press” Lyudmila Pankratova analyzes the situation surrounding the government’s actions regarding small businesses in Lviv as follows:

In investigation, the issue of public interest is more obvious and visible. Lviv residents have the right to choose safe products. In particular, drinking water of proper quality. Many residents believe that the “Pearl of the West” water is just such a product.

It provides their needs.

The city's leadership must pay attention to the needs of city residents on the one hand.

However, on the other hand, they also ensures freedom of entrepreneurial activity without pressure and interference.

P.S.

The struggle of Lviv small entrepreneurs is continuing. They are uniteing into initiative groups, public structures and organizations. They are ready to go all the way to the European Court of Human Rights.

Meanwhile, the companies of the deputy - developer Berbeka is implementing “grandiose” construction projects. One of these scandalous projects - the city council deputies agreed to lease a land plot to this developer for the construction of an apart-hotel. Construction is going to do a few meters from monuments of architectural significance – the buildings of the Lviv National Medical University with more than a century of history.

So journalists will have plenty of work. Wait for the next investigations

19.05.2025

Taras Zozulinskyy