Veterans of the Russian-Ukrainian war, trade unions, human rights defenders, and international organizations are demanding the immediate cessation of illegal actions by the Asset Recovery and Management Agency (ARMA) and its management company “CAMparitet,” which have raider-occupied the Trade Union House in Kyiv.
Today, the area in front of Kyiv’s Trade Union House is crowded again — veterans, human rights defenders, and trade union representatives have gathered. People came out to declare that the state, through ARMA, is attempting to destroy the independent trade union movement and is undermining the military personnel who defended the country on the front lines.

On the night of May 22–23, the first attempt at a nighttime assault was stopped; however, since June 5, the building has been effectively blocked: neither employees, tenants, nor veterans are allowed inside. The entrance is guarded by private security as well as “civilian provocateurs” linked to “UK ‘CAMparitet.’”
“We are forced to file statements out in the open, on the shoulders of our comrades. The awards of our fallen remain inside. They won’t let us take them. And what does ARMA answer? ‘Prove that you are veterans — then we will apologize,’” stated indignantly Serhiy Byzov, Head of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Defenders of Ukraine.

“This is not just a seizure. It is a public humiliation of those who have been through the war. And it is yet another confirmation — in Ukraine, anything is possible if you have the right ‘protection,’” add the soldiers who attended the gathering.
The consortium UK “CAMparitet,” which currently controls the building, is linked to the entourage of the former advisor and ex-husband of Vice Prime Minister for Eurointegration Olha Stefanishyna. Its presence and actions are described as not only politically motivated but also economically driven. It is on the initiative of this entity that trade union tenants are now being forced to pay exorbitant amounts for premises they themselves built and restored after the 2014 fire.

“The Trade Union House was built with funds from the trade unions themselves between 1975 and 1980. After it was destroyed by fire during the Revolution of Dignity, the state did not allocate a single penny. Its restoration was carried out through the efforts of the Federation of Trade Unions and patrons. And now — a private company is evicting us from our own property. This is absurd and shameful,” emphasizes the Deputy Head of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine, Yevhen Drapatyi.

Nataliia Zemlianska, Head of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, presented legal evidence of the illegality of ARMA’s and “UK CAMparitet’s” actions:
“The manager is in the building illegally. The tender was held based on the Pechersk Court ruling of 2023. However, on May 21, 2025, the seizure was canceled. According to the contract (Clause 6.3), this is an automatic ground for its termination. Yet ARMA ignored the rules and continued cooperation with UK ‘CAMparitet,’ which simply seized the building. On June 3, the court again imposed a seizure — but a new procedure should have taken place. It did not. They simply took over the property. This is classic raiding.”
“Military personnel and children of the fallen came to the Trade Union House, to their own office where they worked, and were simply blocked by some strong young men. And the most interesting part — the management company manipulates the information it releases to the media, presenting the building’s seizure as supposedly in the ‘state’s interest.’ But this premises has always belonged to the trade unions and never to the state. The manager says — we are protecting this building. From whom? From these veterans, wounded and disabled soldiers, or the children of the fallen who came to the action today?” adds Volodymyr Saienko, Deputy Head of the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine.

“Due to the blockade of the Trade Union House, we as a Federation cannot fully carry out our activities — which is nothing other than the protection of workers’ rights. All these actions are a blow to the very idea of civil society in Ukraine,” say the union members who attended the event.
The trade unions emphasize that the seizure of the Trade Union House bears signs of a criminal offense, namely:

Article 170 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — obstruction of the lawful activities of trade unions (punishable by up to 3 years of imprisonment);
Article 341 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — seizure of public buildings (punishable by up to 5 years of imprisonment);
Article 356 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — abuse of power or vigilantism (punishable by a fine or arrest of up to 3 months if significant damage is caused).

“In my opinion, actions are currently underway aimed at destroying an effective and active trade union movement in Ukraine, ‘converting’ Ukrainian trade unions into a controlled mode convenient for the authorities. What is needed to destroy a powerful organization? That’s right — to take away its premises, in this case, a Ukrainian symbol of independence, unity, and struggle,” explained Nadiia Korinna, lawyer and Head of the All-Ukrainian Trade Union of Lawyers of Ukraine.

What the authorities are doing — granting an organization a “green light” to act with impunity, including unlawfully. What we see — all complaints and reports about criminal actions committed by various individuals against the FTU are completely ignored by law enforcement, with such statements passed on to local inspectors, resulting in non-compliance with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Code — registration of the statement (report) of a criminal offense in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations (URPTI). At the same time, all statements from ARMA representatives are registered immediately, and the data is entered into the URPTI.

“The person representing ARMA and UK ‘CAMparitet’ who calls himself a lawyer is, in fact, not one, and this can be easily verified. His details are not registered in the Unified Register of Advocates of Ukraine in accordance with the Law ‘On Advocacy and Legal Practice,’ and his so-called ‘certificate of the right to practice law’ from 2018 bears the signature of a person who, at the time of issuance, had no authority — something that can also be easily verified in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities, Individual Entrepreneurs, and Public Formations, as well as by submitting a request to the National Bar Association of Ukraine. In other words, for the actions currently being taken by this so-called lawyer, he bears no responsibility, making him very convenient for ARMA and the consortium UK ‘CAMparitet,’” says Nadiia Korinna.

For now, much can be said and written, but if you review the very procedure of the tender in which UK “CAMparitet” won, everything becomes clear.
Moreover, to this day, ARMA’s head Olena Duma is attempting to create the appearance of negotiations and dialogue between ARMA, UK “CAMparitet,” and the FTU. In reality, this is merely window dressing for the public. No genuine dialogue is taking place. In the so-called working group established by the order of Olena Duma, there are eight members, of whom only two are representatives of the former management company of the Trade Union House, and only one — yes, just one — represents the FTU. This single FTU representative was chosen from five candidates proposed by the FTU, whom Olena Duma ignored and barred from participating in the dialogue. The most remarkable fact is that even this one representative refused to take part in the performance orchestrated by Olena Duma.

The trade union and veteran community is directly demanding the resignation of ARMA head Olena Duma.
“We are demanding not just the return of access to our offices. We demand truth, justice, and accountability. And if state authorities are unable to restore order, society will do it. We will not be broken,” declare the participants of the gathering.

The scale of the incident has gone beyond Ukraine. The International and European Trade Union Confederations, as well as national trade union centers in the EU and the USA, have already sent official appeals to the European Commission and Ukrainian authorities, demanding intervention in the situation.
Participants of the action emphasize: veterans are not people who can be thrown out the door. They are the ones who defended that door for the country. And if ARMA does not listen to them, it becomes a threat itself.