Kyiv Police Chief Ivan Vyhivsky told about the most resonant cases of the capital in his interview
The new head of the Main Directorate of the National Police in the city. Ivan Vyhivsky has been in office for a little more than a month, but during this time in the capital there have already been a lot of resonant events that have attracted the attention of society and law enforcement.
But they talked not only about them, but also about the investigation of high-profile cases in general. In an interview with “Censor.net” Ivan Vyhivsky told that experts in criminal proceedings about the arson of cars of People's Deputy Geo Leros and the ex-head of the Office of the President Andrei Bogdan managed to establish what is known about the fire in the capital's church, why the investigation in the case of beatings the photojournalist of the “Letters” edition will not stop, even if he takes the statement, how the scandal with the drift on Sofia Square ended, whether the People's Deputy Trukhin was behind the wheel of the car that got into an accident, why the police did not prevent the destruction of the “Barban Estate” and what's there is happening now, as well as how the capital's police will fight so-called mass crimes.
“ACCORDING TO PRELIMINARY DATA, THE FIRE IN THE CHURCH OF ST. NICHOLAS IS RELATED TO ELECTRICITY”
— Ivan Mikhailovich, after one of the anonymous telegram channels published a video with a person resembling People's Deputy Geo Leros, the police and the SBI surprisingly synchronously and promptly began an inspection. How exactly will you check in what criminal proceedings?
— The Pechersk District Department of the Kyiv City Police is investigating criminal proceedings under Part 2 of Art. 194 of the Criminal Code regarding the arson of a Mercedes-Benz car belonging to the People's Deputy of Leros. This video was added to the materials of this criminal proceedings after its appearance on Internet resources. Of course, there were a number of questions. As part of the criminal proceedings on the deliberate arson of a car, investigative actions will be carried out, called for questioning the victim Geo Leros.
— What about the investigation itself, what are the results?
I listened to this case. Some work has been done there, but so far there is no evidence base to hold anyone accountable.
The arson happened a year ago. Why has it not yet been possible to identify those involved? This is not some kind of dead end, probably there are video surveillance cameras.
- There are certain questions. Because even the car, when it was set on fire, was not in the usual place, and the video cameras did not work for technical reasons, although they were there.
For me, this is a new story, but I can say for sure: the investigation will be objective.
Are there no witnesses who saw what happened?
— One witness is a neighbor, he saw from afar a man approaching this car.
Commenting on the recent scandal, Leros said that the video was doctored. Is it possible to check its authenticity?
This requires a primary source. If it is, we will be able to conduct such an examination.
— Suppose that the experts confirm that this is the voice of the deputy. But isn't it possible to mount by cutting out certain phrases from other recordings and superimposing them on the video? Is this theoretically possible?
Yes, it is theoretically possible, but this is a matter of investigation.
— Have you established who administers the telegram channel and whether there is a source in them?
“We have scheduled a joint hearing with the cyber police in a few days on this issue.
— In winter, commenting on the investigation of the cases of the arson of cars of Leros and the former head of the Office of the President Bohdan, the head of the National Police Igor Klymenko told our publication in an interview that a number of examinations were assigned to them. Are they completed? Can you tell me what was installed?
— In the criminal proceedings on the Leros car, the conclusions of 4 examinations were obtained: fire-technical, materials, substances and products, molecular-genetic, automotive. In accordance with which the fact of the action of a third-party source on the car is confirmed, its market value is established, and so on.
In the criminal proceedings that the Dnipro Regional Police Department is investigating the arson of a Tesla S85 car belonging to Bogdan and damage to Mazda and Honda cars that were nearby, initiated on the basis of the crime provided for in Part 3 of Art. 194 of the Criminal Code, the conclusions of 4 similar examinations were obtained.
Is it clear who set fire to it?
— So far, no persons have been established, but there are certain developments that need to be brought to a logical conclusion. There is a place to go in this proceeding.
— In general, such arson is a common crime?
— Taking into account the population of Kyiv and the number of cars, it is impossible to say that this is a systemic problem. In the month since my appointment to the post, there were certainly no arson of cars of public figures, but several cars burned. For the most part, these are cases when there was a self-ignition associated with a power failure. There were other situations. For example, yesterday the “Gazelle” caught fire, which was not working at all, it does not drive. It stood still, and people traded vegetables. We consider similar situations through the prism of extortion and do not exclude that in this case someone puts pressure on the owners of this outlet. Therefore, further investigation will depend on how frank the victims are with us and whether they want to share information.
— The police are investigating the circumstances of the fire in the Church of St. Nicholas, where a unique organ was damaged. What was it possible to install? Was it intentional arson?
— Nothing indicates that. The experts of the State Emergency Service and ours were involved, according to preliminary data, the fire was connected with electricity and there was a short circuit. But the conclusions of the examinations are not yet available.
At the moment when the ignition of this organ occurred, there was a musician who was conducting a rehearsal, and several more people who work there. The musician saw that the smoke was gone. The room in which the equipment is located was nearby, but closed, there was no access there. Therefore, they had to open the door with a sledgehammer. They tried to extinguish the fire on their own, but could not, and called the rescue service.
— The church is generally the same public place, there were no outsiders there then?
There wasn't that day.
When will the conclusions of the examination be made? President Vladimir Zelensky set the government the task of ensuring urgent restoration in the church. Could it interfere with the investigation?
— No, restoration does not interfere with the investigation. We have already taken all the measures, samples for examinations have been selected. If the permission of the investigator is required, it will be provided.
“PEOPLE CALL WITH WHOM THEY HAVE NOT COMMUNICATED FOR A LONG TIME, AND THEN THEY REMEMBERED ME. THEY SAY SOMETHING LIKE THIS: “I'M READY”
— You have been in the position of the head of the Metropolitan Police for more than a month. How can you describe the criminogenic situation in the city?
— It is precisely controlled, and there is no reason to talk about any surges. The most common street crime, property crimes, theft of personal property of citizens. If we talk about numbers, then apartment thefts, for example, are committed on average 10-15 per day. Considering how many people live here, I would not say that this is a very large figure. But we are now changing the approach to investigating property crimes, including apartment theft and illegal possession of vehicles. These issues are dealt with by a separate unit of criminal investigation, it will be reformatted.
I believe that the previous leader Andriy Kryshchenko did a lot, was in his place, well, this is how the situation turned out, we all leave our posts over time. Therefore, I can say that the system in general works, but, in my opinion, individual areas should be strengthened, reformatted.
There are many internal problems, in particular, lack of personnel. We all understand well that the salary of an operator of 15 thousand hryvnias in the city of Kiev does not correspond to the pace and rhythm of life that exists in the capital, and even considering how much it costs, say, to rent housing.
— And how much, for comparison, is the salary of the operative of the State Bureau of Investigation?
— My friend transferred from the SBU to the SBI. He received a salary several times more than I receive as the head of the chapter. Wages vary widely, hence the outflow of personnel.
The Bureau of Economic Security is now being created. Do you know how many people want to go there?
— How many — I do not know, but I understand that those who wish will and will take them, because professional experienced personnel are needed everywhere. Especially when it comes to people with a narrow specialization. For example, those who carry out operational and technical activities. It is difficult to teach to work qualitatively, and when a person already knows everything, the new law enforcement agencies will take it, as they say, with hands and feet. And we will again have to educate the young. Because we cannot compete on the level of wages with the new structures.
— At the level of the leadership of the National Police, is this question asked?
— Undoubtedly. Moreover, it is placed at the level of the Minister of Internal Affairs and the head of the National Police. I heard it in not one meeting. In addition, during the meeting with the people's deputies, this topic was also discussed.
— When you were appointed, the Minister stated that he expects “strengthening public security”, and also noted that priority should be “the issue of combating crimes that citizens complain about the most”. What are these crimes?
— These are so-called mass crimes, which most of all concern people. We are talking about theft of all forms of property, in particular pickpocketing, robbery. If we talk in general about the criteria for evaluating our work, the main one since the creation of the National Police is, first of all, the level of trust of the population. You know, at all times law enforcement officers were aimed at solving serious and especially serious crimes. This is undoubtedly important. But if you only reveal these categories of crimes, it does not mean that the public will trust you. Let's say one citizen's mobile phone was stolen, another had an old battery or some equipment taken out of the garage. The severity of these crimes from the point of view of criminal law is different, and for people disclosure in both cases is important. Or even a mobile phone, which a person used constantly, is more important to find than old equipment, which for a long time lay idle in the garage.
What do you plan to do to reduce the number of such crimes?
The first is prevention. These crimes are usually committed by the unemployed, people who use drugs, etc.
In addition, I read some of the capital's telegram channels, respond to messages where people complain about the actions of the police, and demand an appropriate response from subordinates. If we want people to trust us, we have to work well.
Do you pay attention to the registration of crimes? You said that they are relatively low in number. Or maybe they just aren't registered? Because when I listen to the stories of friends, I get the impression that the police deliberately take their time and after receiving the application do not immediately enter information into the ERDR.
— Yes, I pay attention to that. In district administrations, where managers have already been changed, there were also such problems. For example, the new head in the Holosiivskyi district administration reported to me a few days after the appointment that there were a number of appeals that were not made.
I worked as an investigator for many years, then headed the investigative unit. And I always had such an approach that it was necessary to enter information into the EHRD, find out everything and then make a decision.
How many district managers have you changed?
— Four. In the Holosiivskyi, Solomiansk, Svyatoshyn and Podolsk departments. Appointed people that I have known for more than one year. It was not only my decision, they went through the appropriate interviews.
There are still a few managers who, in my opinion, are not coping with the tasks facing them, so personnel changes will probably still be. But I approach this process in a balanced way. If people work responsibly and honestly, they will remain in their positions.
— You said that you appoint those whom you have known for more than one year. Is this, as they usually say, “your” people?
No, not on that principle. I've worked in different regions, so I know quite a few people in the system in general.
— Do they offer money for the appointment?
— Not offered. Yes, and I have always had a rather tough position on this issue. You can not appoint a person for money to any position. What results will you demand from her if you do?
— Does no one call, does not try to negotiate, ask?
— People call with whom they have not communicated for a long time, and here they remembered me, for example, fellow students. They say something like this: “I'm ready.” I ask why and explain that I will not appoint anyone to leadership positions just because we once studied together. But if a person is ready to go as an operative, work the time and show the result, then this is another conversation. Only so.
— And politicians or businessmen come to meet, offer some...
—... “good”?
— Yes.
— They offer nothing. We really get acquainted with deputies of different levels, but in order to understand the problems of the population and, if necessary, quickly solve them.
— But one day they may call for you to solve their personal problems.
— They can.
— Will you do it?
If they become, God forbid, victims of crime, we will respond accordingly. And we will understand the situation as objectively as possible.
What if they committed a crime themselves?
So they will be responsible for him.
— I will remind you of the recent scandal due to an accident related to the People's Deputy Trukhin. Was this case investigated from the beginning by the Kiev police?
— Yes, but from the first day we communicated with the SBI, because we understood that the MP was involved in this case.
— What's with the video?
— We shot video from cameras on the movement of this car from the side of Boryspil, and there it was recorded that the driver of the deputy was behind the wheel. But on the section of the road before the entrance to Kiev, where the new asphalt was laid, there are no cameras at all. And we assumed that the deputy could get behind the wheel, so we repeatedly initiated the transfer of this criminal case to the SBI before the prosecutor's office.
At the time of the arrival of the police at the scene of the accident, the people's deputy was there. We washed the pillow so that there was DNA, other investigative actions were carried out and examinations were appointed, but there were no results at the time of transfer of the case to the SBI, so please contact there for details. It is the SBI that is now investigating this case.
— Examination on blood alcohol content was carried out?
— Yes. This procedure is constantly done. I can't say more because the investigation is being conducted by another law enforcement agency.
— The advisory advocacy group distributed a statement saying that you are helping the exorcist Strashko, who now works in the police, to avoid responsibility for beating the participants of the Revolution of Dignity. Scarshok claimed that he could not be at the court hearings, since you sent him on a business trip to the Donbas. Comment?
“I do not help anyone to escape responsibility, and no one hides it. He appeared at the court session, which was claimed by the lawyers, and will appear on others.
He was reinstated by a court decision, and according to the procedure, such persons must undergo an internship in the area of the Joint Forces Operation.
— Recently it became known that ex-deputy Yevgeny Dayday, who held the position of assistant chief of the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv, submitted a declaration before his dismissal. Has he left office?
— We did not work together, he was immediately fired when I took office.
— Previously, he became the hero of a journalistic investigation into the execution of Balkan drug trafficker Radoe Zvizer, who was tried to kill in the center of Kiev in May 2020. According to Slidstva.Info, he allegedly coordinated the transportation of the alleged killers first to Kiev, and after the crime — towards the border. Was there any reaction of law enforcement officers to this investigation, the facts stated by the journalists checked?
— For a comment on this issue, you should contact the State Bureau of Investigation.
“RECENTLY WE HAD A SITUATION: THERE ARE SOME PERSONS WALKING DOWN THE STREET AND CARRYING TRICOLORS”
How are the relations with the local government? Have you met the mayor?
Yes, we met. There was a situation when I was invited to a session of the Kyiv City Council, but I did not have time, because the invitation came in a day, and I already had events planned for this time. Therefore, I met with the mayor a little later. We have a normal working relationship.
— That is, you can at least communicate promptly on resonant situations? Such, for example, as the drift situation for the Red Bull commercial on Sofia Square. The Moscow State Administration said that permits were not given. As a result, everyone began to accuse the police of inaction. Especially since the event took place near the capital.
It was the day before my appointment.
— However, this incident will be investigated after the appointment. So how did it happen that there was no permission, and the video was shot?
— When they planned to shoot this video, they applied for permission to both the police and the KCDA. But without waiting for an answer and not receiving these permits, they came and started shooting.
Although the police saw this, they did not even imagine that this could be done without permission. After all, usually such issues are agreed in advance by local governments. Moreover, they applied for permission not to the Main Directorate, but to the Shevchenko Regional Administration.
Therefore, they reacted when the message on “102" was received. And criminal proceedings were opened under Part 2 of Art. 296 (hooliganism), after which a number of certain procedural actions were carried out, in particular, cars were seized. By court order, they were arrested.
By the way, the drivers believed that they had all the agreements, that they had not yet been issued, only the organizers of the shooting knew.
At this moment, the pre-trial investigation is still ongoing, we can only talk about interim results, that is, about the establishment of a preliminary amount of material damage of about 50 thousand hryvnias. The final amount will be determined by the appointed examination.
I also came to certain conclusions after that, and now I am being told about similar shootings. Recently we had a situation: the quality of the face is walking down the street and wearing tricolors.
— And what was it?
— It turned out that it was a film about the events in the East. Can you imagine the reaction of people to this?
— You said that many property crimes are committed by drug addicts, so I will ask you about one of the draft laws that were developed with the participation of public organizations and the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The point is that people who have not committed serious crimes should be sent not to places of imprisonment, but to rehabilitation centers. And at the expense of the state. If such a law is passed, in your opinion, will it somehow affect the criminogenic situation?
If a person starts using drugs, they can no longer give up. Of course, there are exceptions, and for the most part it is sick people who need help. Re-education in places of imprisonment usually does not produce results. And this approach can really change the lives of such people in the first place, and you are right, the criminogenic situation in general, because about 20% of the same mass crimes that we talked about are committed by drug addicts.
For example, a fairly common situation is theft from cars. They are done by people who need money for a dose. Walks past the car, broke the glass, took out a DVR or some other things that are in the car, then sold it.
— Kyiv is a city where something is constantly being built and there are many scandals due to illegal construction and destruction of architectural monuments. You can give dozens of examples, and I will ask about the situation that happened recently with the “Barban Manor”. On August 20, despite the 2-month defense of the residents of the neighboring houses, at 5 in the morning, under the cover of 30 titties, the developer drove the construction equipment and destroyed the house. Why didn't the police do anything to hurt it?
— The problem of all these buildings, which are actually architectural monuments, but for some reason they are not included in the register of immovable monuments of Ukraine, is that such offenses cannot be qualified under the article of the Criminal Code — “Destruction of architectural monuments”.
In this particular case, in May, criminal proceedings were opened under Art. 356 Criminal Code (self-government). She, let's say, is not working enough. If you raise the Unified Register of Court Decisions, then there are only a few of them under this article. But if there are no other options, investigators enter data into the ERDR under such an article.
As for this building, it was not entered in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. But, according to the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy, it falls within the boundaries of the historical area of the city of Kiev and is located in the archaeological protection zone.
However, there is one legal nuance. The Ministry of Culture believes that a permit is required for land works, this ministry issues it once a year, and the term issued to the developer in this case expired in 2020. Theoretically, it was possible to try in advance to go to court with a request to impose an arrest and ban any use. Although it is not known what the court decision would be, since the developer, who is also the owner of the “Barban Manor”, has all the documents except this permit. And, for example, in the also resonant situation with the “Utkin Estate” there is an examination of the Kiev Research Institute of Forensic Expertise, which states that such a permit for land works is not needed.
Regarding the process of destruction of the facade, formally the owner did not violate anything. And the next morning after the events of which you speak, on my initiative, the investigator was in court with a request for arrest, and the court supported him by prohibiting any action with the “Barban Manor”. However, the other party may challenge this decision.
What is forbidden when everything is destroyed?
Not everything, in part.
— The attackers of the photojournalist of the newspaper “Letters” Oleksandr Kuzhelnyi publicly apologized to him for the beating, which was recorded on video and which we all saw. Did he withdraw the statement after that or does the investigation continue?
— He did not take away the statements, but said that he accepts the apology, and then let the decision be made according to the law. And even if he takes her away, the investigation will not stop.
— Why?
— Under the Criminal Code there are crimes of private and public prosecution. Article 345-1 (threat or violence against a journalist), which incriminates an assault suspect, is new, and it refers to crimes of public prosecution. Regardless of whether you take away the application or not, the matter goes to court.
In this case, three people are brought to justice, one of whom is wanted.
Who is this third?
— This is the person who first inflicted several blows on the journalist's leg and, so to speak, provoked the situation that two others picked up.
Regarding journalists, I generally have a dot here (smiles, — auth.).
Do you not love us?
— On the contrary, I respect the work of journalists, so I have always been meticulous about the investigation of cases by art. 171 of the Criminal Code (obstruction of the legal activities of journalists). You can't beat journalists. Like police officers only because someone doesn't like how they do their job.
Tetiana Bodnia, “Censor.net”
Photo: Natalia Sharomova
