The Ministry of Economy and the Environment has responded to a petition regarding the protection of the Ukrainian Carpathians and has invited the petitioner and representatives of the environmental community to a discussion. On the one hand, the authorities have initiated a dialogue on this complex issue; on the other, environmental activists have put forward a number of arguments as to why this is not enough. After all, despite all the promises, wind farms continue to be built, and with questionable compliance with EIA requirements.
This was reported by the organisation ‘Ecology – Law – People’ (EPL).
Reaction from the Ministry
At the meeting, Deputy Minister Oleksandr Krasnolutskyi stated that the Ministry of Economy is already implementing a number of measures that meet the petition’s requirements. These include:
- a temporary ban on logging in the Pashkovets Forest District of the Svalyava Forestry Enterprise to make way for the construction of a power line to the wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture;
- advocacy for the adoption of a number of legislative acts – on the legal protection of the Emerald Network and the creation of the European Natura 2000 network in Ukraine. The relevant document, drafted by the EPL, is already under consideration by the European Commission.
Despite the statements, work continues
Environmental activists have pointed out that this is far from sufficient. The author of the petition, Andriy Tupikov, emphasised that construction work on the wind farm on the Runa mountain pasture is still actively underway. In other words, there is currently no question of any real protection for the high-altitude Carpathians.
Source: “Ecology – Law – Human” (ELH) | Facebook
At the same time, it is LLC “Turyansky Wind Park” that is ignoring the EIA conclusion previously issued by the Ministry of Economy.
“During the construction works, significant alterations of the natural landscape are observed, improper management of fertile soil layers, destruction of habitats of species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, as well as other possible violations of environmental protection legislation,” ELH emphasized.
Therefore, environmental activists insist that the State Environmental Inspection must carry out an unscheduled inspection of the facility. The activists plan to submit the relevant complaint to the SEI.
According to the deputy minister, it is impossible to halt the construction itself. The Ministry of Economy does not have the appropriate levers for this. The agency proceeds from the position that the courts have confirmed the legality of allocating land plots for the wind farm and the legality of the construction.
Work with local councils
Oleksandr Krasnolutskyi reported that the Ministry of Economy is maintaining communication with the Zakarpattia Regional State Administration regarding the project on amendments to be introduced into the Planning Scheme for the Zakarpattia region. The government agency proceeds from the principle that it is important to consider the environmental value of territories when planning various facilities.
At the same time, environmental activists insist that the strategic environmental assessment procedure, which is required for such changes, should be more transparent, including written consultations with the public and stakeholders. Therefore, instead of informal agreements between institutions, everything should be conducted officially, with the submission of proposals and comments.
Manipulations in clear-cutting for power lines
A separate problem is created by the legislative enshrinement of so-called “lands of public interest,” which the highlands of the Carpathians may become if they interest the energy or defense industries. This provision was introduced by the law “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Other Laws of Ukraine on Supporting Defense-Industrial Complex Enterprises.” According to its requirements, the management of such territories must comply with the nature protection action plan. However, in practice, these rules are not being followed. The Deputy Minister of Economy promised that a corresponding subordinate act would be developed for this purpose.
The situation regarding forest clear-cutting for power lines has also been discussed separately. It so happened that a commission inspection in May 2026 did not identify any rare species in these areas, only possible temporary watercourses where salamanders could potentially live. However, earlier that same month, eco-activists had documented the presence of red-listed animals. After the “blindness” of the commission, representatives of the environmental community revisited the site and once again recorded video footage of rare species.
“Foresters do not want to listen to representatives of the environmental community and are even prepared to involve scientists from a Chernihiv university to survey red-listed species in Zakarpattia, who apparently are just as poor at spotting red-listed species as the foresters themselves,” the organization commented.
Therefore, the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” was forced to respond and suspended logging, while the Ministry of Economy is to set up a new commission to inspect forest areas in the Pashkivetskyi forestry of the Svaliava State Forestry with the participation of all interested parties.
Source: “Save Pikuy”
EcoPolitic previously reported on this logging, as well as on the fact that foresters continued to destroy trees even after the official announcement of a pause.
It should be recalled that an electronic petition to the president regarding urgent measures for the preservation of the nature and cultural heritage of the Ukrainian Carpathians collected the required signatures as early as the end of March. Its author, veteran and biologist of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group Andriy Tupykov, called for the preparation of a draft law that would regulate the special conditions for the sustainable development of the region and guarantee the protection of valuable ecosystems. A separate demand concerned granting the mountain meadows (polonynas) the status of protected sites.
One month later, President Volodymyr Zelensky responded to the petition and forwarded the matter to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine.
