In Kyiv, is an occupation of the October Palace being prepared? A "spy" car was discovered near the building

In Kyiv, is an occupation of the October Palace being prepared? A "spy" car was discovered near the building

In Kyiv, there is a possibility of a forcible seizure of the premises of the October Palace. The director of the institution noticed a suspicious car nearby, from which video and audio recordings of the palace staff were being made. In addition, data from the cameras were being transmitted "online" to an unknown location.

The company suspected of orchestrating this is one that could win the management competition for the October Palace conducted by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA).

This was reported by Informator.

Spy equipment found in the car

The alarming situation at the building of the October Palace on June 11, 2025, was reported to Informator by the director of the institution (officially named the International Center for Culture and Arts of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine), Yuriy Bobyr. According to him, around noon he noticed a suspicious car near the staff entrance in the parking lot, with two men inside.

"I approached them and asked them to explain why they were there. They responded that they were ’state security’ and were ’monitoring the order.’ They did not identify themselves or provide any documentation. I called the police, the State Security Department, and the Security Service, and investigative actions are currently underway," Yuriy Bobyr told Informator.

Inside the car, law enforcement officers found professional equipment that could be used for surveillance. This includes a special camera capable of broadcasting live images from the October Palace, as well as having other specific functions.

"This is equipment that broadcasts video recordings from the courtyard online, who is moving where, and possibly even capable of broadcasting audio from inside, and can ’see’ the number of employees in the building. The equipment is professionally installed and was operating ’online’," explained Yuriy Bilous, a lawyer working with the Federation of Trade Unions, to Informator.

Such actions, according to the lawyer, are illegal as they involve the collection of personal data. Despite being in a public place (anyone can enter the courtyard of the October Palace), hidden video recordings of people are being made without their consent, and they are unaware of such actions. The Federation of Trade Unions has only one version regarding the motives for these actions.

"We believe this is done to physically seize the property of the October Palace and the palace itself in an unlawful manner by those who wish to obtain the building for management through public auctions organized by ARMA. The public auctions are currently being held based on an arrest decision that was canceled on May 15, 2025. The competition has not yet been completed," explained Bilous to the publication.

Who plans to seize the "October"

It concerns a competition that was recently announced by ARMA to select managers for the "October" Palace. This is already the second attempt to conduct such a competition since the previous one had only one participant who did not meet the criteria. The current competition, as assured by the Federation of Trade Unions, is not legal, and thus, an attempt by representatives of the managing company that wins it to penetrate inside and seize the property can be expected.

"The filming is conducted to prepare for a physical takeover: those who watch the video understand who and how much time they spend in the palace, where and when the security guards walk, and at what time people arrive at work, etc. This is important information if someone wants to seize the building," believes Bilous.

The director of the institution, Yuriy Bobyr, is already concerned about the physical strengthening of security in the building. He explained to Informator that this is the first thing he must do in times of danger and that preparations for potential forceful interventions in operations are already underway. Interestingly, while this is happening, the defenders of the "October" Palace complain about the overly cautious actions of law enforcement officers: they say that in four hours, they only conducted an external inspection and took oral statements from the men inside the car. The equipment used to film the building was not confiscated, and the car is still parked there, not to mention that none of the participants in the events were detained. Such actions by the police, according to Bilous, can be described as "very cautious and unorganized."