“Protasiv Yar will remain a green zone: the court sided with environmentalists and prosecutors
29 September 21:04
On September 29, the Kyiv City Commercial Court confirmed the protected status of Protasov Yar and dismissed the developer’s claim. Thus, it supported the position of the representative of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the Prosecutor General’s Office and prevented the cancellation of the protected status of the landscape reserve, "Komersant Ukrainian" reports citing the official Telegram channel of the Prosecutor General’s Office.
The Kyiv City Commercial Court dismissed a lawsuit filed by a business company that demanded to cancel the Kyiv City Council’s decision to create the reserve. The company claimed that it was the user of more than 1 hectare of land in the tract and planned large-scale development.
The environmental prosecutors proved in court that the lease agreement for these lands had expired more than ten years ago. They insisted that any construction within the protected area was unacceptable, as it would lead to the loss of a unique natural complex, the destruction of species listed in the Red Book of Ukraine, and damage to the archaeological heritage.
The court agreed with the prosecutor’s arguments and upheld the decision to create a landscape reserve.
What preceded it
In September 2024, it became known about a conflict between the public and the developer over the development of the green zone of the reserve. Activists of the CHESNO movement said that amid non-transparent negotiations and meetings without public participation, the developer planned to start construction on this territory. The Kyiv City State Administration is initiating a land purchase from the developer to protect the green zone.
At the same time, members of the Kyiv City Council discussed the possibility of buying the land from the developer to stop the work. Instead, the developers continued to promote their projects, despite protests and legal requests.
As a result, they canceled the decision of 2004, which allocated the green zone for construction. In addition, the deputies approved the purchase of land plots privately owned by Protasiv Yar LLC.
Protasiv Yar LLC: what is its interest in the reserve’s lands?
We emphasize that 16 out of 20 hectares of the reserve belong to Protasiv Yar LLC, a company that is part of the Continium FIG. The main income of this group is generated by WOG gas stations and a dairy holding.
As of March 2025, the co-owners of Continium were Serhiy Lagur, a majoritarian MP from the For the Future party and co-owner of WOG, and Svitlana Ivakhiv, the ex-wife of Stepan Ivakhiv. The latter, along with Ihor Palytsia, was a former business partner of Ihor Kolomoisky and a former member of the UKROP party. And Hennadiy Korban, the former leader of UKROP, was involved in the Protasiv Yar cases and, according to the late activist Roman Ratushny, one of those who threatened him.
Protasiv Yar Nature Reserve: the history of its creation
The Kyiv City Council approved the decision to create the Protasiv Yar landscape reserve on July 14, 2022.
“The creation of the reserve is a tribute to the memory of activist Roman Ratushnyi, who fought against construction and for the preservation of the green zone in the capital,” said Vitali Klitschko, the head of the capital, at the time.
We remind you that Roman Ratushny protested against the construction of Protasov Yar in Kyiv. He was the head of the initiative and then of the public organization Protect Protasiv Yar. The man was a scout with the 93rd Brigade “Kholodnyi Yar” and was killed in June 2022 while performing a combat mission in the Kharkiv region.
Shortly before the Kyiv City Council’s decision to create the reserve, Ratushnyi’s mother, writer Svitlana Povaliaieva, and activists urged the deputies to vote for the decision to create a landscape reserve on both slopes of Protasov Yar.
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In November 2023, the reserve was named after Roman Ratushnyi. This decision was voted for by 76 deputies, and no one voted against it.
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