Clinic guard jailed for 4 years over locked shelter that led to deaths in Kyiv last year
A Kyiv court found Vadym Moshkin, a security guard of one of Kyiv's clinics, guilty of negligence over a closed bomb shelter that led to the deaths of three people during a Russian strike last June, sentencing him to four years in prison, the Prosecutor General's Office said on July 30.
The deaths of three civilians, including a 9-year-old child, who tried to enter a closed bomb shelter on June 1, 2023, during a Russian missile strike in Kyiv, sparked outrage among Ukraine's public and officials.
After President Volodymyr Zelensky called to punish the ones responsible for the deaths, the authorities started an investigation, pressing charges against the clinic's administration and the security guard, who did not open the air defense shelter.
Residents of Kyiv's Desnianskyi municipal district sought shelter in the clinic's bomb shelter after the air raid sirens went off.
Witnesses said that while people were banging on the doors, asking to open them, debris of a shot-down missile fell on the ground, killing three civilians.
According to witnesses, Moshkin did not open the bomb shelter on time because he claimed to "have problems with his leg" and could not walk fast.
Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, pointed out that keeping bomb shelters open and accessible to people is the responsibility of district administration and the heads of institutions where they are located.
The Attorney General reports that Vadym Moshkin changed his official statements regarding the events several times and did not plead guilty during the trial.
Later in June 2023, a special commission launched a series of inspections of Kyiv's bomb shelter and found that only 65% were usable. The Kyiv City Attorney's Office said it opened an investigation into possible embezzlement during the repair of Kyiv’s bomb shelters.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
