Construction of a wind farm continues illegally on the Runa Polonyna (a high-altitude Carpathian meadow) with flagrant violations of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) legislation.
Heavy construction machinery is destroying the mountain, technological roads are being built, and foundations for wind turbines are being poured. Meanwhile, government authorities, whose job it is to prevent violations of environmental law, remain inactive.
Only yesterday, three and a half weeks after we filed our complaint, we finally received a response from the State Environmental Inspectorate in the Zakarpattia region.
They stated that they have appealed to the central apparatus of the State Environmental Inspectorate to, in turn, petition the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources (Min dovkillia) for permission to conduct an unscheduled inspection. Yes, due to current legislation, inspections during martial law require such a complicated and lengthy approval procedure.
But does it really take three weeks just to open the EIA register and the building permit register in the Unified State Electronic System for Construction and verify the absence of documents required by law?
The decision now rests with the leadership of the State Environmental Inspectorate and the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources. We urge them not to delay and to approve the inspection as quickly as possible.
Violating International Obligations
The Ukraine Facility Plan, under which the EU provides financial assistance to Ukraine, explicitly requires adherence to the “Do No Significant Harm” (DNSH) principle during the construction of energy facilities. This principle clearly mandates compliance with environmental assessment procedures. Therefore, the continued ignorance of the illegal wind farm construction on Runa Polonyna not only damages the natural environment but also violates our state’s international obligations.
