On the eve of Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev's fateful decision for the Carpathians, 17 parliamentarians appealed to him to ban the construction of a wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture. At the same time, the Ministry of Economy is delaying the implementation of the recommendations of the parliamentary committees on environmental policy and European integration regarding the conclusions on the feasibility of development in the highlands of the Carpathians.
Protect Runa and all highlands
On February 13, the Ministry of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture is to provide its conclusion on the EIA procedure for Turiansky Wind Park LLC, No. 8343. The company is building a wind farm in the highlands in violation of the law and ignoring the opinion of the expert community, but with the support of state institutions.
On the eve of the decision, according to information from the environmental community "Save Pikui," 17 members of parliament sent a parliamentary appeal to Minister Sobolev to grant nature reserve status to all highland areas of the Carpathians.
The text emphasizes that even before the EIA conclusion was received, work was carried out on the mountain pasture that caused irreparable damage to the ecosystem. The company removed soil to pour foundations, built roads, and cut down unique forests.
“Issuing a positive EIA conclusion will legitimize these violations and set a precedent for other high-altitude meadows where wind power plants are also planned in violation of the law: on Svydivets, Borzhava, Hostra, Krasna, Apetska, and others,” emphasized the MPs.
Among the MPs’ demands is to recognize the construction of a wind power plant on the Runa meadow as unacceptable. They also want answers concerning the petition “Protect the Wild Nature of Svydivets!”.
Ministry of Economy delays deadlines
The resonance around Runa reached such a scale that in November 2025, there was an offsite meeting of the Verkhovna Rada Committees on Environmental Policy and European Integration held there.
One of the MPs’ requirements for the Ministry of Economy was to provide a conclusion on the feasibility of developing high-altitude areas in the Zakarpattia region with wind power plants by January 31. By February 5, the Ministry was also to report to the government on the construction of wind power plants.
However, the Ministry of Economy "did not have enough time". As reported by Espreso.Zakhid, the institution sent a request to postpone the provision of information until the beginning of spring. Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on European Integration, added that the Ministry has the right to do so and that the committee will have to wait for a response for another month.
The MP believes that the Ministry of Economy is deliberately delaying, to provide time for the adoption of a draft law that would abolish the requirement for the EIA procedure for energy facilities.
“I am convinced that the ‘operators’ who want to make quick money by destroying the mountain ridges of the Carpathians work closely with the deputies. At present, the amendments that my colleagues and I submitted regarding the impossibility of removing the provisions on Environmental Impact Assessment have been rejected. We will continue to insist on them in the chamber. If the amendments are accepted, we will support them; if not, we will not support them,” stated Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze.
The Member of Parliament also noted that the deputies will review the provided information once it is submitted by the Ministry. At the same time, the environmental prosecutor’s office is reportedly gathering information as well.
“Perhaps, at least law enforcement agencies will intervene. There is little hope, but we would like them to,” the parliamentarian remarked.
EcoPolitic previously reported that the Ministry of Economy is shifting responsibility for creating the protected area on Polonyna Runa to the regional authorities of Zakarpattia.
