Will Viktor Braginsky and Co. soon sit in the dock?

The Kyiv national police continues to investigate the reasons for the flooding of the Obolonsko-Teremkovskaya metro line section, which occurred in December 2023.

Recently, law enforcement officers officially reported suspicions to two officials of the Kiev Metro police station, who, according to investigators, committed negligence in their work, which is why this emergency situation occurred. Among these is the chief engineer of this enterprise, Viktor Vygovsky (in the collage on the left), who, after the dismissal of the odious Viktor Braginsky (in the collage on the right), serves as the head of the “subway”. Investigators believe that Vyhovsky and his other colleague-suspect did not comply with all the measures required by their job descriptions for the maintenance of metro facilities, and as a result, the “Kyiv Metro” and the public enterprise “Kievpasstrans” suffered damage in the amount of 164.4 million hryvnia. We are talking about the funds that the subway did not receive due to the closure of 6 stations, and about the costs spent on the operation of “duplicate” bus and trolleybus routes. It is noteworthy that city authorities deny all accusations and continue to insist that this incident occurred due to “predecessors” who built the subway incorrectly.

As it became known, law enforcement officers are investigating the facts of possible crimes committed by officials of the Kiev Metro, which led to the depressurization of the capital’s subway tunnel in December 2023.

The corresponding investigation is being carried out within the framework of criminal proceedings No. 12023100000001219 dated October 21, 2023, which was opened by the Podolsk Department of the National Police of Kyiv - that is, even before the mentioned incident occurred.

At the end of last month, on July 23, law enforcement officers reported suspicion to the chief engineer of the Kiev Metro CP, Viktor Vyhovsky. He is officially charged with committing a crime under Part 2 of Art. 367 of the Criminal Code (CC) of Ukraine – official negligence leading to grave consequences. Subsequently, on July 25, the Podolsk District Court, at the request of investigators, chose a preventive measure in the form of 24-hour house arrest for a period until September 23, 2024, wearing a “bracelet” (electronic monitoring device).

During the same period, the head of the track service, tunnel structures and buildings of the Kyiv Metro Municipal Enterprise received suspicion in this case under the same article (when exactly the suspicion was handed over and what the name and surname of this official were, there is no information in open sources - media) . On July 25, he was also placed under 24-hour house arrest for the same period. In addition, on July 29, the same court, at the request of law enforcement officers, seized the property of this official - a 2019 Kia Sportage car and a 1976 pleasure motor boat.

What are the suspects charged with?

According to the investigation, it was because of Viktor Vygovsky and the head of the track, tunnel structures and buildings service that on December 8, 2023, a man-made emergency occurred in the capital’s subway. We are talking about water getting into the tunnel on the stretch between the Demeevskaya - Lybidskaya metro stations (along track I, on the section within PK73 - PK75 of the Obolonsko-Teremkovskaya line). Law enforcement officials believe that the cause of this accident was the formation of stalactites, leaching and damage to the integrity of the waterproofing of the metro tunnel over a long period of time, corrosion of the reinforcement of prefabricated reinforced concrete frame elements and the gradual destruction of individual elements of the tunnel structure.

As a result, on the same day, December 8, the standing commission on technological and environmental safety and emergency situations in Kyiv decided to stop the movement of electric trains on the section between the Lybidskaya and Teremki stations. We were talking about 6 stations at once, which the capital authorities closed the very next day - December 9.

According to law enforcement officers, due to the official negligence of Viktor Vygovsky and his “colleague”, the territorial community of Kyiv represented by the Kiev Metro and the Kievpasstrans suffered damage totaling 164.4 million hryvnia - this amount is confirmed by the results of a forensic economic examination carried out as part of this investigation. So, we are talking about the fact that only for the period from December 8, 2023 to March 19, 2024, the Kiev metro, due to the closure and incomplete functioning of the metro stations “Demeevskaya”, “Goloseevskaya”, “Vasilkovskaya”, “Exhibition Center” , “Hippodrome” and “Teremki” received less income in the amount of 25.9 million hryvnia. In turn, the losses of Kievpasstrans are due to the fact that this company had to spend funds in the amount of 138.5 million hryvnia in the same period on the operation of bus and trolleybus routes that duplicate the routes of the closed stations of the Obolonsko-Teremkovskaya line.

Viktor Vygovsky came to the attention of law enforcement officers for good reason. According to investigators, it was he, in accordance with the requirements of the job description of the chief engineer of the Kiev Metro and the Rules for the Technical Operation of Subways of Ukraine, who was supposed to formulate plans for programs for the technical development of the enterprise, introduce progressive technologies (including to increase the existing level of security and occupational safety at the enterprise), organize high-quality and highly efficient engineering support for the metro, carry out measures to ensure the long-term service of artificial structures and prevent their malfunctions, carry out measures to organize inspections of tunnels, etc. However, as the National Police established, all this was not done.

In turn, according to the investigation, the head of the track, tunnel structures and buildings service, contrary to the requirements of his job description, did not fully organize the inspection of the technical condition of metro buildings and structures by the testing and inspection station.

The need for “isolation” of Viktor Vyhovsky from the “Kyiv Metro”, that is, the choice of a preventive measure in the form of house arrest, was explained by the National Police by the fact that now this person simultaneously performs the duties of the head of this control point, and therefore can exert illegal influence on those subway workers those who have already been questioned by law enforcement as witnesses in this case, as well as those who have not yet been questioned. This means, among other things, that he can “provide appropriate instructions, appoint and dismiss from positions, assign bonuses to employees or deprive them of them.” In addition, the investigation believes that there is a risk “that the suspect will commit other criminal offenses, including official ones, since the crime charged against Viktor Vygovsky is inextricably linked with his official duties and powers.”

In turn, law enforcement officers justified the seizure of his “colleague’s” vehicles by the fact that this official may attempt to alienate his property. And this, they say, cannot be allowed, because if he is found guilty of the crime charged, law enforcement officers must file a civil claim for damages, and the vehicles can be used to cover the mentioned losses.

Background and context

Let us remind you that another investigation into this incident was opened on the same day when this accident occurred - December 8. His investigation into the commission of a crime provided for in the same part 2 of Art. 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, was handled by the police department in the metro of the National Police of Kyiv. On December 13, 2023, investigators conducted the first searches at the Kiev Metro police station as part of this case, during which a number of documents were seized (including job descriptions of the company’s management). However, this investigation seems to have stalled for some reason - the last court ruling on it was dated March 14, 2024. Law enforcement officers did not disclose any particular details about this case - they only noted that as a result of the official negligence of “unidentified persons of the Kiev Metro”, the tunnel was depressurized, cracks appeared on its walls, and water appeared on the tracks, which led to the closure of 6 stations.

At the same time, from the first day the capital authorities denied their involvement in this accident. In the Communist Party of Kiev Metro, the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) and among the Kiev City Council deputies close to Vitali Klitschko, there were different versions about the reasons for this incident. Thus, possible violations by the general contractor of the conditions for constructing a tunnel on this section of the metro, and the “excessive” activity of the Lybid River flowing in this area, and difficult geological conditions and swimmers, and even the previous government were mentioned. They say that during the time of “Yanukovych-Azarov”, the city authorities, in pursuit of quick results in the construction of tunnels, did not have time to waterproof this section of the metro. At the same time, the city authorities promised that it should take about six months to resume traffic on the mentioned metro line (eight have already passed - media) - until all the necessary inspections, repair work, etc. are completed.

In turn, a number of experts pointed out that one of the main reasons for this situation could be the uncontrolled development of the capital. In particular, the architect and well-known expert on urban planning Viktor Gleb expressed confidence that the construction of the Ocean Plaza shopping center on Lybidskaya Square at one time had negative consequences for the subway, on the site of which there was a shaft for the construction of a metro tunnel, filled with thousands of “cubes” of broken hot water heating mains. At the same time, according to him, the current leakage of the tunnel is clearly caused by the construction of the Riverdale residential complex on the site between the Lybidskaya and Demeevskaya metro stations - a project of the developer Perfect Group from the orbit of People's Deputy Dmitry Isaenko (elected from the now banned OPZZH) .

To establish the “true cause” of this accident, on December 14, 2023, the City Council even created a special temporary control commission (TCC), but as of today, this body has still not reported on its work.

At the same time, on the day the above-mentioned suspicions were handed over to officials of the Kyiv Metro police station, the capital’s authorities once again began to engage in “whitening their reputation” and, according to the usual tradition, called the actions of law enforcement officers “political pressure.” Thus, the Kyiv City State Administration pointed out that the flooding is associated with poor-quality design solutions and poor-quality construction of the Demeevskaya - Lybidskaya tunnel, which is confirmed by expert reports and research by scientists. The mayor’s office also emphasized that “all necessary routine work on the maintenance and operation of the distillation tunnel was carried out in full.”

In response to this, the Kyiv City Prosecutor’s Office noted that “based on the results of the commission’s construction and technical examination, it was concluded that the technical cause of the destruction of the metro tunnel was its improper operation.” In addition, law enforcement officers noted that when examining the quality of construction of the tunnel, no violations or any deviations that could lead to depressurization of the tunnel were found.

The prosecutor's office also reported that law enforcement officers established that measures to eliminate water ingress into the tunnel were carried out in the period from March 2011 to December 2023 without the involvement of specialists from research institutes, metro construction, design and other organizations or individual specialists who would establish the causes of damage and gave recommendations for eliminating them.

At the same time, prosecutors emphasized that they did not receive from officials of the Kyiv Metro Municipal Enterprise the results of examinations or other documents on which their statements about poor-quality design decisions during the construction of a tunnel between metro stations were based and deviations from design decisions during the construction of the tunnel were identified, which seems to and led to flooding.

The verbal battles between city authorities and law enforcement officers did not end there. Already on July 25, after choosing a preventive measure for Viktor Vygovsky, the Kyiv City State Administration stated that his arrest complicates the process of managing the capital’s subway during the final stage of restoration of the section between the Demeevskaya and Lybidskaya stations. At the same time, the metro emphasized that “despite all the obstacles and pressure, repair work in the tunnel between these stations continues and will continue to open traffic there until the beginning of autumn.”

Metro scandals

As the media have repeatedly reported, the activities of officials of the Kiev Metro regularly raise questions among law enforcement agencies.

For example, the first deputy head of this enterprise, Valery Gavrilenko, is now under investigation for official negligence, which resulted in grave consequences. According to law enforcement officials, it was because of him that the capital’s subway overpaid 421.8 thousand euros (13.1 million hryvnia) in 2014 for the purchase of metro trains from the Russian OJSC Metrovagonmash. These funds, provided under loan agreements with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), were actually lost, because the Russians violated the terms of the 2011 contract regarding delivery dates. Recently, the court chose a preventive measure for the suspect in the form of a personal commitment, but refused to remove him from his position.

Interestingly, similar violations were previously also charged against the chief accountant of the Kyiv Metro, Lyudmila Panasyuk. In 2020, the servants of Themis closed the case against her due to the expiration of the statute of limitations.

In addition, since 2021, law enforcement officers have been investigating facts of possible misappropriation of budget funds during the construction of the first stage of the metro in the Vinogradar residential area. The National Police previously established that about 241 million hryvnia received by the general contractor of these works (JSC Kievmetrostroy) was transferred through a “chain” to companies with signs of fictitiousness, and later cashed out and divided among the participants in the “scheme”.

According to investigators, officials of the Kiev Metro could also benefit from such undue benefits. At the same time, as investigators found out, someone had previously helped the beneficiaries lobby the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for an important decision, which allowed the general contractor to receive a larger advance than was provided for in the relevant agreement. It is noteworthy that the last fact was studied by the SBU as part of another criminal proceeding, but law enforcement officers were unable or unwilling to complete this investigation.

And in the spring of 2024, the then head of the Kiev Metro CP, Viktor Braginsky, became the hero of another investigation - a journalistic one. Then the media Bihus.Info, based on the results of an analysis of the declarations of this official and data on his family’s property, reported that his pensioner mother is buying expensive apartments, his sister is buying land, his ex-wife is building a dacha in Kozin, and personalities are connected with the ex-head of the capital’s subway received contracts from the metro itself. In total, journalists discovered Braginsky’s undeclared property worth 52 million hryvnia.

On March 14, a few hours after the release of this investigation, Vitali Klitschko announced that he would remove Viktor Braginsky from his duties as director of the capital’s metro. The next day, March 15, it became known that the head of the Kiev Metro Communist Party wrote a letter of resignation. At the same time, the Kyiv City State Administration emphasized that the duties of the head of this enterprise would be temporarily performed by the chief engineer of the capital’s metro, Viktor Vygovsky.

The latter has held this post since January 1, 2020. Prior to this, Viktor Vygovsky was an adviser to the head of the metro on technical issues and deputy chief engineer of this control center. In turn, the aforementioned Viktor Braginsky, who was also a deputy of the current IX convocation of the Kyiv City Council (UDAR faction), has headed the Kyiv Metro Communist Party since July 17, 2014. This enterprise is subordinate to the Department of Transport Infrastructure of the Kyiv City State Administration, which has been headed by Ruslan Kandibor since September 1, 2021. The activities of this structure have been personally supervised by the head of the capital, Vitaliy Klitschko, since November 9, 2021.