Accident between Demiivska and Lybidska metro stations: Kyiv subway officials are suspected of dereliction of duty. PHOTOS
In December 2023, some sections of the blue line of the Kyiv metro experienced emergency flooding and subsidence of the ground above the tunnel. This resulted in both temporary restrictions on train traffic through a number of metro stations and the complete closure of some sections of the metro. The suspects include the acting head of the Kyiv Metro utility and the head of the service for track, tunnel structures and buildings. The total amount of damage caused by the accident is almost UAH 165 million.
This was reported by Censor.NET.
The operatives of the Strategic Investigations Department in Kyiv together with investigators of the Department of Police in the Subway of the Main Department of the National Police in Kyiv collected evidence of illegal actions of the officials of the Kyiv subway, which led to depressurization and cracks in the walls of the tunnel. For several years, the defendants, who were directly responsible for conducting inspections of the technical condition of the subway facilities, concealed the facts of the critical condition of the subway section.
The results of the examinations revealed that corrosion of the reinforcement and gradual destruction of individual elements of the tunnel structure led to cracks in the frame of the main structure. As a result, groundwater got into the cracks, the constant impact of which caused a violation of the integrity of the tunnel's waterproofing - as a result, the tracks of the Kyiv subway began to flood.
As a result, in early December 2023, certain sections of the Obolonsko-Teremkivska line of the Kyiv Metro, namely the tunnel between Demiivska and Lybidska stations, had an emergency flooding and subsidence of the soil above the tunnel. To avoid a bigger disaster, the damaged metro stations had to be closed.
In this regard, the Kyivpastrans utility company launched temporary surface transportation routes that duplicate the underground traffic scheme, which requires additional funds from the capital's territorial community. As a result, only for the period from December 2023 to March 2024, the city budget suffered losses of more than UAH 138.5 million.
For its part, Kyiv Metro lost almost UAH 26 million in revenue due to the accident and the closure of a number of metro stations.
In addition, two contracts totaling more than UAH 40 million were signed between Kyiv Metro and a commercial entity to eliminate the consequences of the accident and develop the necessary design and technical documentation. According to preliminary estimates, more than UAH 400 million is needed to restore the damaged subway tunnel.
On July 23, based on the evidence obtained during the pre-trial investigation, the acting head and the head of the service of track, tunnel structures and buildings of the utility company were notified of suspicion. They are charged with dereliction of duty (Part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
The defendants face imprisonment for up to five years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to three years and a fine of two hundred fifty to seven hundred fifty tax-free minimum incomes or without it.
