A 16.5-hectare plot within the Protasiv Yar nature reserve has been designated a landscape reserve. This decision was handed down by the Supreme Court of Ukraine in response to appeals lodged by community activists and the Kyiv City Council. The nature reserve status is intended to protect the green space from high-rise development.
This was reported by the civil society organisation “Let’s Protect Protasiv Yar” on Facebook.
However, defenders of the reserve believe that the developers will not give up and will take the case to international courts.
“We are convinced that WOG will take the case further — to the European Court of Human Rights, where it will attempt to take the Protasiv Yar nature reserve away from the people of Kyiv. We must therefore monitor developments closely and be prepared for further attacks,” the activists noted.
Meanwhile, the case concerning the return of the landscape reserve to the ownership of the city community is still pending before the court. It is being heard following a claim brought by the Kyiv City Council and Protasiv Yar LLC. The next hearing is on 8 July.
Background
Recall that in 2022, the Kyiv Council announced the creation of the Protasiv Yar landscape reserve. However, as the land was not initially withdrawn from private lease, the companies acquired grounds for legal disputes, some of which were successful.
Thus, in March 2026, the Northern Commercial Court of Appeal partially overturned the Kyiv Council’s decision. As a result, the protected status was revoked for most of the area – 16.5 hectares.
However, in April, the court decided not to exclude another disputed 1-hectare plot from the reserve territory, even though the developer-plaintiff’s arguments were similar – the right to use the land and the lack of consent during the creation of the protected area.
Protasiv Yar was assigned the functional designation “residential and public development area” during the term of Kyiv mayor Leonid Chernovetsky. In September 2019, the district court permitted development. This decision was appealed by the Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA), and the local community took to the streets in protest.
The land was reinstated as a green zone in 2020. In 2022, the Commercial Chamber of the Supreme Court denied the appeal by the company “Bora” regarding the Protasiv Yar plot in Kyiv. However, the fight for the land continues to this day; the status, development rights, and the creation of the reserve are still being contested.
