Despite the Supreme Court’s ruling on the definitive protected status of the Protasiv Yar lands, the property developer has decided to use legal manoeuvres to block the return of the land to the Kyiv community. Activists see this as an attempt to drag out the proceedings.
This was reported by the civil society initiative ‘Holka’.
Another offensive
Defenders of the green space had hoped that the ruling by the country’s highest court would contribute to a positive outcome in the legal battle. However, the company, which acquired the plots through non-transparent means, decided to resort to procedural manoeuvres.
On Tuesday, 4 August, the Kyiv Commercial Court heard the case concerning the return of 16 hectares of Protasiv Yar to the people of Kyiv. The claimant was the public prosecutor’s office.
“Representatives of Protasiv Yar LLC (part of the WOG group of companies) resorted to legal manoeuvres and filed a motion to dismiss the claim. The court spent nearly two hours attempting to determine the validity of this motion and hearing the positions of the parties,” reported “Holka”.
Activists report that, as a result, the hearing has been postponed until 8 September. It is provisionally scheduled to take place at 11.20 am.
Preparations are currently underway to file formal objections to these actions by the property developer. The aim is to prevent the company from derailing the legal proceedings and dragging out the case.
Recall that on July 22, the Supreme Court of Ukraine determined that the Kyiv location would retain the status of a landscape reserve. The company sought to challenge previous court rulings, but withdrew its claims before the cassation appeal was considered. Earlier, in June, the Supreme Court granted the cassation appeals of public activists and the Kyiv City Council regarding the recognition of 16.5 ha of land as a landscape reserve.
The Kyiv City Council announced the creation of the “Protasiv Yar” reserve back in 2022. However, at that time, the land was under private lease, which gave the developer the opportunity to contest its status. For example, in March 2026, the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal partly overturned the Kyiv City Council’s decision regarding 16.5 ha.
The territory of Protasiv Yar became designated for residential and public development as far back as 2007, facilitated by former Kyiv Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi. In September 2019, the district court allowed development on the site. However, in July 2020, Kyiv authorities restored the land’s status as a green zone, forbidding construction. Since then, the leasing companies have changed, but all of them have attempted to dispute the city’s decision.
