There is a decree, but there is no reconstruction: why Moshchun, which has become Kyiv's shield, is not being restored as promised

This is Rubryka's third visit to Moshchun during the war. For the first time, the correspondent of Rubryka recorded the consequences of the Russian offensive in Horenka and Moshchun and spoke with a few more people who were returning to their homes destroyed and mutilated by the enemy. On the second visit, our correspondent visited the country part of Moshchun, where the electricity supply had not yet been restored at the beginning of September 2022.

What is the problem?

Here we are, already in the fall of 2023, having arrived at the invitation of active residents. What is going on here? Next to nothing. And that's the problem.

Moshchun recently celebrated its 358th anniversary. This village is quite deservedly called the shield of Kyiv.

Trees are the witnesses of the confrontation in Moshchun.

For more than two weeks in March of 2022, extremely difficult battles between Ukraine's defenders and the larger number of enemy elite units occurred here: paratroopers, marines, and artillery. From March 5 to 21, 2022, the Russians tried to cross the Irpin River three times and reach Kyiv.

"Having held Moshchun, we protected the capital. Kyiv stood up, and with it all of Ukraine," the president of Ukraine emphasized on the anniversary of those events.

The memorial sign "Angels of Victory" was installed to commemorate courageous defenders who changed the war's course.

"On March 21, the defeat of the Russian offensive group became one of the turning points in our struggle. The day we began the liberation of Ukrainian lands," Zelensky noted.

Memorial to Ukraine's defenders in Moshchun.

Nowadays, a memorial in Moshchun is dedicated to the defenders of Moshchun and the capital. The names of 96 "Angels of Victory" who gave their lives in that confrontation are known.

Portraits of soldiers who died while defending the capital are commemorated at the memorial.

The residents of Moshchun, namely Tetyana Bilan, Yulia Levkovska, and Halyna Bezditna, suggest starting with a visit to the memorial. Foreign guests often come here, and the president of Ukraine has also been here.

Renovation of Vyshneva Street in Moshchun.

The road to the memorial is just being built. It will be asphalted, a sidewalk will be installed, street lighting will be made, and markings will be placed, Andrii, one of those who directly performs these works, told Rubryka. He is an employee of BUDALYANS GROUP LLC, which won the tender and is carrying out major repairs on the local road along Vyshneva Street. The garden associations of Moshchun, which have not yet officially become a part of Moshchun, are already starting from this street.

This renovation is the only restoration work we could see in Moshchun in September 2023.

Employees of LLC BC BUDALYANS GROUP.

Our interlocutors recall the terrible days of March 2023 when they were forced to leave their homes. They are deeply grateful to the Ukrainian military for their feat and for preventing the looting of the Russians, which, unfortunately, other settlements of the Kyiv region suffered.

"It was a terrible evacuation," the residents say.

A memorial to the defenders of the capital was installed in Moshchun.

Yuliia Levkovska and her husband visited her home for the first time after its liberation on April 3, 2022.

Consequences of the battles in Moshchun.

"It was such a horror that even now when you look, you don't see what happened. You see how it was when I drove in with two men, and we all cried. We drove through unexploded shells, dead Russians were lying on the roadsides, and there was not a single house that was not destroyed," she recalls.

In the photo in the foreground: Yuliia Levkovska, Tetyana Bilan, and Rubryka's journalist.

Luhova Street in Moshchun.

The roofs suffered the most damage in the houses on Luhova Street, but nowadays, you can't tell, the residents say. Most people did the repairs themselves: patching roofs and fences. Although many did not yet do internal work, hoping for compensation from the state.

A modular house from benefactors instead of their own house destroyed by the enemy on the central street of Moshchun.

The inscription on the fence from February to March 2022.

What is the solution?

Residents of Moshchun have reason to hope for help from the state, not only given the eRecovery program aimed to reimburse people for the destroyed housing. They were encouraged by high-ranking officials as early as the spring of 2023. In particular, as another resident, Oleksandr Murga recalls, and other residents confirm, in May 2022, the then deputy head of the Office of the President, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, visited Moshchun with promises of help.

Halyna Bezditna and Oleksandr Murga, the residents of Moshchun.

A four-legged resident of Moshchun.

Kyrylo Tymoshenko discussed with the residents of Moshchun the issues of reconstruction of destroyed settlements, restoration of electricity supply, organization of transport connections, joining of gardening societies to the village, and even removal of household waste.

Evidence of the terrible March of 2022.

Then, Tymoshenko emphasized: "Every, even the smallest, settlement and every resident is important to the Office of the President, Kyiv Regional Military Administration, and local authorities. Therefore, we will make every effort to solve all the discussed problems."

Moshchun is now largely a village of modular houses.

After that, the electricity supply was restored in Moshchun, except for garden societies, but this was the only thing done from the announced list.

There are power poles in Moshchun, but there is still no street lighting.

A new transformer in the garden societies of Moshchun.

According to the Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 382, adopted on April 25 of this year, Moshchun was included in the list of six settlements that are implementing an experimental project "regarding the restoration of settlements that suffered as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation."

New medical clinic in Moshchun.

Critically affected settlements were chosen: Borodyanka and Moshchun in the Kyiv region, Trostyanets in the Sumy region, Posad-Pokrovske in the Kherson region, Tsyrkuny in the Kharkiv region and Yahidne in the Chernihiv region.

As noted by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, within the framework of this experimental project, reconstruction will take place comprehensively and according to new principles.

Flowers on the fence are painted over bullet and shell holes.

The resolution text reads: "Restoration of settlements includes the production of project documentation (project and estimate documentation), new construction, reconstruction, restoration, major repairs, current repairs, and purchase of goods."

One of the badly damaged buildings on Moshchun's Vyshneva Street.

Why doesn't it work? 

As of September 2023, street lighting in Moshchun has not been restored, and roads have not been repaired, except for Vyshneva Street, which leads to the memorial, and not a single destroyed residential building has been rebuilt. Last winter, people saved themselves in modular houses provided by benefactors, but they were very cold due to the constant switching off of the lights. It seems that this year, if the Russians again massively bombard energy facilities, the situation may repeat itself.

A typical landscape of Moshchun.

We are meeting because the residents of Moshchun do not understand why their village is not being restored as promised. Did everyone forget about them?

We reformulated the residents' questions, and there were more than a dozen of these people. We asked the head of the Hostomel settlement military administration, since Moshchun is part of the Hostomel community, Serhii Smal, the head of the Kyiv regional administration Ruslan Kravchenko, and the head of the State Agency for the Reconstruction and Development of the Infrastructure of Ukraine Mustafa Masi Nayyem.

In the photo from left to right: Tetyana Bilan, Halyna Bezditna, Yuliia Levkovska, and the journalist of Rubryka.

Serhiy Biletskyi, the deputy head of the Kyiv Regional Military (State) Administration, in his answer, refers to information from Hostomel:

"According to the information provided by the Hostomel settlement military administration, 831 residential buildings were damaged in Moshchun and nearby garden associations due to Russian military aggression. Of them:

• I category (current repair) — 275 objects;
• II category (overhaul) — 221 objects;
• III category (dismantling) — 335 objects.

Currently, a health center has been established on the village's territory, and a cultural center has been renovated.

In addition, as of today:

• 206 residential buildings of the I and II categories were renovated;
• about 100 buildings were dismantled, up to the foundation;
• 130 modular houses for temporary residence have been installed."

The remains of a damaged house and a modular house are next to each other in the yard.

The deputy head of KRMA mentions the Procedure for implementing the experimental project, which provides for the reconstruction of Moshchun. Biletsky draws attention to the fact that the main manager of the state budget funds under this program and responsible for the implementation of the experimental project on the restoration of the mentioned settlement is the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development of Infrastructure of Ukraine (hereinafter – the Reconstruction Agency).

"According to the information of the Restoration Agency, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has determined the list of projects for the restoration of settlements within the framework of the experimental project and the amount of funding for 2023. Funding for reconstruction facilities in the village of Moshchun, Kyiv region, is not provided for in 2023," says the official.

This year, unfortunately, nothing will change for this building with the help of the state.

The official adds that the implementation period of this experimental project is defined as 2023-2025. That is, in the next two years, there will be reconstruction if there is money.

A sign on the fence on the central street of Moshchun.

The head of the State Agency for the Reconstruction and Development of the Infrastructure of Ukraine, Mustafa Masi Nayyem, in his answer to Rubryka, draws attention to other points of the above-mentioned Order, namely those that state that "regional state administrations (regional military administrations) on the proposals of local self-government bodies form lists of objects, regardless of the form of ownership, which are subject to restoration (including new construction) within the framework of the implementation of the experimental project (hereinafter – objects)."

A modular house behind a damaged fence.

Based on proposals from regional state (military) administrations, the Reconstruction Agency prepared a draft Cabinet resolution "On the allocation of funds from the fund for the liquidation of the consequences of armed aggression for the implementation of an experimental project on the restoration of settlements that suffered as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation," which the government adopted on August 4 year, informs Mustafa Masi Nayyem.

One of the damaged buildings on the central street of Moshchun.

In August resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 823, as the head of the Restoration Agency notes, "financing and carrying out works at the facilities of Moshchun of the Hostomel territorial community of the Kyiv region is not foreseen in 2023, because the Kyiv regional state (military) administration did not provide a list of objects that are subject to restoration."

On November 3, 2023, during a briefing, the head of KRMA, Ruslan Kravchenko, announced that they submitted a list of 108 objects in the village of Moshchun to the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development.

In particular, Kravchenko noted: "Recently, we have received a lot of requests from the media regarding the comprehensive reconstruction of Moshchun. I emphasize that KRMA carried out all the necessary procedures and handed over all the documents."

According to Kravchenko, starting in May 2023, letters were sent to the State Agency for Reconstruction and Development with a list of priority objects and the necessary documents for each object.

In addition, the Hostomel settlement military administration sent documents for 33 objects to the agency for approval and verification, the head of KRMA added.

He also informed about the reconstruction under the program eRecovery: 12 residents of Moshchun received positive decisions regarding compensation for destroyed property up to ₴500,000, and two more received certificates for the purchase of new housing.

Kravchenko assures: "The restoration of Moshchun began immediately after liberation, and this process continues."

The deputy head of the Hostomel settlement military administration, Oleksandr Ivchenko, stated in his answer that Moshchun is not on the list of settlements, projects for the restoration of which will be considered this year.

In addition, Ivchenko reminded about the possibility for citizens to receive compensation for a damaged house of up to ₴500 thousand by submitting a statement in the Diia application, as well as the need to submit a statement about destroyed real estate through Diia.

Very damaged and temporary housing.

The officials seem to be trying to shift the responsibility on each other. And whether there will be anything to comfort the disappointed residents of the village of Moshchun there is no answer at the moment. They turned to Rubryka to at least hear or mention their problem.

A destroyed house in Moshchun.

On its Telegram channel, the Hostomel settlement military administration sometimes informs about the visits of those willing to help the community. For example, representatives of the Australian organization Disaster Recovery recently visited Moshchun. The administration's post stated that the guests' purpose was to help restore the village and hoped for fruitful cooperation.

Unfortunately, temporary housing in Moshchun risks turning into permanent housing.

Perhaps the solution for Moshchun lies in the sum of such point initiatives, and maybe the state and local authorities will come to an understanding after all and rebuild the heroic village better than it was.

Photo: Mykola Tymchenko

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