UAH 10, not UAH 106 million: Odesa City Hall commented on the reconstruction of the district court

In the Odessa City Hall on August 27, they commented on the renovation of the Kyiv District Court for 106 million UAH. They clarified that the 106 million UAH is the total project cost, and 10 million UAH have been allocated for renovations, which will be used exclusively for the construction of additional premises for detainees and law enforcement officers accompanying them.

Deputy Mayor of Odessa, Oleksandr Filatov, emphasized that the project for the renovation started before the war and includes several components, most of which are not planned for implementation:

"I emphasize that the funds are directed not for judges or improving their working conditions but for citizens who have not received a verdict yet and for law enforcement officers accompanying them. Secondly, the cost per square meter of building this facility is about 690 USD per square meter. I draw your attention: this is an administrative building with special requirements and building standards."

He also provided arguments for the necessity of the construction:

"In this court, a majority of preventive measures are imposed at the request of most law enforcement agencies and the military. This means that daily, about a hundred cases involving citizens who have not been convicted yet pass through this court! The Kyiv District Court is the most loaded court in Ukraine (40,000 cases and materials annually, of which 20,000 are pre-trial). However, it is the smallest court in terms of area in Odessa."

Furthermore, he emphasized that in the past month, two extraordinary sessions of the city council were held to allocate an additional half a billion hryvnias for the needs of the army:

"Once again, I want to stress that this court handles cases of military servicemen. And, by the way, the recent high-profile investigations and searches in cases of evasion of military service, misappropriation of military property, humanitarian aid, abuses during conscription, violations by employees of military commissariats and medical commissions, etc., are the result of the work of the Kyiv District Court! During the war, this work is of utmost importance. And it requires proper conditions."