It has come to light that officials at Kyiv Metro were aware of the hazardous condition of the tunnel between the "Demiivska" and "Lybidska" stations, yet they chose to keep this information hidden.
This claim was made by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who released audio recordings that confirm this.
According to sources from law enforcement, the conversation features former head of Kyiv Metro Viktor Braginsky, who is wanted, and chief engineer Viktor Vygivskiy.
The audio, recorded on December 4, 2023, reveals that in October-November 2023, sand began to appear along with water between the "Lybidska" and "Demiivska" stations, causing cracks in the tunnel.
These recordings indicate that the officials responsible for monitoring the state of the tunnels failed to take necessary measures to address the issue.
"I have been working here for nine years and I understand how critical and dangerous this is," said the former head of the metro during a conversation on December 6, 2023.
From the recordings, it is evident that Ruslan Kandybor, director of the Transport Infrastructure Department of Kyiv City State Administration, was reluctant to close the hazardous section of the metro, as mentioned by Braginsky to the chief engineer.
Furthermore, the recordings indicate that Braginsky wanted to arrange for a blogger to publicly state that the situation on the damaged metro section was "stable".
Reminder:
On December 8, 2023, metro services between the "Teremky" and "Demiivska" stations were urgently halted due to an emergency situation. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko stated that this was due to violations of construction technology 15 years prior.
Kyiv law enforcement opened a criminal case regarding official negligence due to cracks in the ceiling of the metro between the "Teremky" and "Lybidska" stations.
On December 20, 2023, Ruslan Kandybor stated that there was no critical transport situation on the Obolon-Teremky line of the metro and that the destruction between the "Demiivska" and "Lybidska" stations had been prevented.
The head of the municipal enterprise "Kyiv Metro" Viktor Braginsky resigned on March 15, 2024, after investigations by journalists.
The Podil District Prosecutor's Office announced suspicions of official negligence against two officials of Kyiv Metro due to flooding on the blue line between the "Demiivska" and "Lybidska" stations.
In June 2024, Braginsky was declared wanted.
In July 2025, prosecutors from the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office announced suspicions against Ruslan Kandybor for official negligence leading to tunnel destruction in the capital's metro.
