In the fall of 2025, a temporary bridge was built on the Latorica River in Transcarpathia, which already caused flooding in the local community during the ice drift this winter. Both the construction itself and the inaction of local authorities and regulatory bodies are violations of Ukrainian law. Therefore, environmental activists appealed to state authorities.
As emphasized by the environmental community "Save Pikui," the reason for the illegal construction may be the same development of Transcarpathia with wind turbines.
"Probably, the reason was the traffic of large-sized equipment used in the construction of the road to Preluk in Runa and the wind farm warehouse in Zhdenievo, and the future traffic of logging trucks carrying timber that will be cut down under the power lines for wind turbines, poses a risk of destroying the second bridge in the Zhdenievo community," said the environmental activists.
No approvals or environmental impact assessments
In September 2025, when construction began, the local community and activists appealed to the State Environmental Inspection in Zakarpattia Oblast. The inspectors responded that yes, Uzhdorbud LLC was building the crossing, but had not provided any approvals for the work from the relevant services.
Such activities require an environmental impact assessment (EIA) according to the law. This is confirmed by Article 3 of the respective law, which explicitly addresses clearing and deepening riverbeds and bottoms, bank reinforcement, and changes and stabilization of river channels. According to the law, such activities fall under the second category of planned activities and may have a significant environmental impact. Conducting such activities without an EIA is also prohibited by the “Water Code of Ukraine.”
Source: “Save Pikyuy” page on Facebook
Did the local authorities fail to act?
According to the law, Uzhgorod Construction LLC was required to provide the Zhdeniivka village council with a pre-approved project for the creation of a temporary crossing. The village council was supposed to establish water protection zones for the crossing and announce this to residents. In addition, the authorities were supposed to define a coastal protection strip near the construction site in the urban planning documentation or spatial development plan, along with entering this information into the State Geocadastre and installing signs on the ground.
If the legal procedure was not followed, the construction is considered illegal in the absence of a project. In this case, the village council should have acted as follows: halt the construction and file a lawsuit against LLC "Uzhdorbud" for the flooding of Pidpolozzya and for violating hydrological conditions and wildlife habitats.
However, it is still unknown whether the village council followed legal procedures. According to activists, the DEI sent relevant requests back in October 2025, but no information has been received yet.
At the same time, the environmental community reminds us that violations of the Law on Environmental Impact Assessment are subject to both administrative and criminal liability. Therefore, Save Pikui has submitted a series of requests to state authorities.
Recall that at the end of January, an illegal crossing blocked the ice drift, putting the community into an emergency situation. EcoPolitic reported that employees of the State Emergency Service (SES) were forced to urgently dismantle the illegal structure.
In Zakarpattia, the high-profile construction of a wind power plant on Polonyna Runa is ongoing. Despite appeals from members of parliament, experts, activists, and the public, the Ministry of Economy issued a positive EIA conclusion for the developer.
