The Odesa District Administrative Court has ordered the Odesa City Council to conclude a protection agreement regarding the traction substation of the Rishelievskyi tram depot, which has the status of a monument of science, technology, and architecture of local significance.
According to USI, the court issued the decision based on a lawsuit by the Khadzhibey District Prosecutor’s Office, which succeeded in having the city council’s inaction declared unlawful.
The traction substation is part of the complex of the Belgian Tramway Company and has been under state protection since 1991. In 2011, the site was included in the State Register of Immovable Monuments of Ukraine. Despite this, the owner had long failed to conclude the mandatory protection agreement.
Violations were identified in autumn 2025. Information about the absence of the agreement was confirmed by relevant departments of the Odesa City Council and the Odesa Regional Military Administration. After this, the prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit. During the proceedings, the city council argued that the obligation to conclude the agreement should lie with the municipal enterprise Odesmiskelektrotrans, which manages the depot. However, the court rejected these arguments, stating that responsibility for compliance with cultural heritage protection legislation rests with the owner of the monument.
In the end, the court obliged the Odesa City Council to formalize a protection agreement for the cultural heritage site.
Photo – collection of the museum of the municipal enterprise “Odesmiskelektrotrans”.
