Part of the Chornobyl Reserve's land near the border is to be transferred to military units of the State Border Guard Service for the construction of fortifications and other defenses.
The corresponding draft decree of the President of Ukraine on changing the boundaries of the reserve is currently being agreed upon by the central executive authorities, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs reports.
It is noted that in February 2023, the Land Code of Ukraine was amended. Since then, protected lands along the border have been withdrawn from the nature reserve fund and transferred to the military units of the State Border Guard Service.
The press service said that the total need for land allocation along the border is more than 23 thousand hectares. More than 2,000 hectares are the lands of 42 protected areas.
"The Administration of the State Border Service and the State Environmental Academy of Postgraduate Education and Management have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to obtain cartographic materials for the passage and location of nature reserves, information on their size, and information on the owners and users of natural resources," the message reads.
It is noted that border guards will receive 30-50 meters wide sections along the border on land and along the shore of the Ukrainian part of the reservoirs. Near the border with Russia and Belarus, the width of such a section will reach 2 kilometers.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, Ukrainian environmentalists criticized the draft law No. 7475 "On the Protection of the State Border of Ukraine," which is intended to strengthen the protection of the state border, primarily by expanding the border strip to 2 kilometers.
