The Verkhovna Rada adopted a draft law on simplifying the mechanism of allocating land for the Defense Forces
On September 4, the Verkhovna Rada adopted draft law No. 11335, which simplifies the process of transferring especially valuable lands, nature reserves and forests to the category of defense lands. This will make it possible to place institutions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) and other law enforcement agencies in these territories.
The authors of the draft law argue that the current legislation does not take into account the needs of defense regarding the use of such lands. In particular, certain areas of the forest are of strategic importance for defense, and changing their purpose will allow the placement of military facilities.
Defense lands are now considered to be the territories designated to support the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine, the State Border Service and other military formations. They can be used for the location of military units, educational institutions and other institutions that are part of the structure of the defense forces.
However, the Main Legal Department of the Verkhovna Rada expressed concern about this draft law. According to their assessment, some of its norms do not correspond to the Constitution of Ukraine and international legal acts. In particular, the law allows changing the purpose of any particularly valuable lands and forest plots, even if this is not an urgent necessity, which creates corruption risks.
It was also emphasized that the National Police, which is included in the list of entities that can use these lands, is not directly related to the functions of providing defense.
The draft law caused discussion due to possible negative consequences for environmental protection and natural resource management, since the removal of a special legal regime from protected areas may lead to their further degradation.
