Systematic searches in the Kyiv City Hall and utilities in the Ukrainian capital are aimed at creating a negative image of the capital's authorities and creating obstacles to the implementation of important projects for the city and Kyiv residents, according to a statement posted on the Kyiv City State Administration website.

According to the Kyiv City State Administration, on August 16, regular searches are conducted in the Department of Transport Infrastructure and at the utility company Directorate for Construction of Road Construction Facilities of Kyiv. Searches are also carried out in the contractors involved in the construction of the Podilsky bridge over the Dnieper River. "All this is aimed at creating a negative image of the capital's authorities and creating obstacles for the implementation of important projects for the city and the people of Kyiv," the statement said.

According to the KSCA, documents on the object "Construction of the Podilsky bridge over the Dnieper River in Kyiv" have been repeatedly seized and checked by law enforcement officials, and the Department of Transport Infrastructure of the KSCA and utility company "Directorate of Road Construction Facilities in Kyiv" assist law enforcement agencies and provide all necessary documents.

However, numerous searches paralyze the work of utilities and structural units of the city government, the Kyiv authorities said. The mayor's office considers what is happening to be a political action and systemic pressure.

According to the KSCA website, the searches were conducted by officers of the Podilsky District Prosecutor's Office of Kyiv together with the Strategic Investigations Department in Kyiv of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Ukraine.