Defense Intelligence fighters barricade themselves inside seized Zhovten sanatorium in Koncha-Zaspa – media
An armed confrontation broke out in Koncha-Zaspa between representatives of Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence (HUR) and servicemen of military unit A4005. According to law enforcement, the intelligence officers entered the premises of the Zhovten sanatorium and briefly took ten servicemen prisoner. HUR insists it was acting on court rulings, as the property has been seized.
As reported by Censor.NET, sources in law enforcement, the General Staff and HUR told Ukrainska Pravda (UP) about the incident.
What is known about the clash
According to a law enforcement source cited by UP, on the evening of 3 December representatives of the Defence Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence entered and took control of the Zhovten sanatorium, "breaking down the gates and damaging the fence, firing live rounds into the air and at the ground, and taking ten servicemen of military unit A4005 prisoner, inflicting significant injuries".
The source said that the HUR operatives later released the prisoners and barricaded themselves inside the grounds.
It is also noted that personnel from the National Police, the Military Law Enforcement Service, the military commandant of Kyiv region responsible for the area where unit A4005 is based, and senior officials of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration (KRMA) are present near the site.
Deputy to Syrskyi and State Bureau of Investigation unit arrive at scene
According to the UP source, HUR personnel refused to allow representatives of law enforcement and other state military bodies onto the premises.
A unit of the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) also joined the operation, enforcing the seizure of sanctioned property.
In addition, the source told UP that a deputy to Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi arrived at the scene.
A HUR source told UP that the people staying on the sanatorium’s premises were there illegally and that the intelligence officers were merely enforcing relevant court decisions.
According to a source familiar with the situation, this was not the first time in the past month that HUR personnel had come to the site demanding that it be vacated.
More about the Zhovten sanatorium
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It is noted that after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the military unit concluded an agreement with representatives of the sanatorium and rented premises there.
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In 2020, a court ordered the sanatorium to be seized, and in 2022 the SBI announced that the facility had been returned to state ownership. The sanatorium was transferred to the management of the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).
- ARMA valued the asset in Koncha-Zaspa at 60.7 million hryvnias, but the competition to select a new manager was never held.
- In 2022, DTEK Kyiv Electric Grids and Kyivgaztrade initiated bankruptcy proceedings against Zhovten Clinical Sanatorium LLC over a debt of 5 million hryvnias. As a result, the movable property on its books may be transferred to creditors to settle the debt.
- Part of Zhovten’s land plot and real estate has passed into the ownership of a company linked to businessman Borys Kaufman.
