Zelensky will not sign the ‘firewood law’: President’s Office reveals details of the situation
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has refused to sign a law amending the penalties for the use of forest resources, known in the media as the ‘firewood law’. This was reported by Dmytro Lytvyn, presidential adviser, in an interview with BBC Ukraine.
In particular, he said: ‘The President will not sign this law.
He did not disclose the reasons for his refusal, but added that the time for a veto had already passed due to technical reasons.
The document, adopted by the Verkhovna Rada on 10 October, is called the ‘firewood law’ because of one of its articles concerning citizens who stock up on firewood for heating in winter. The law aims to increase liability for illegal logging and manipulation of wood, especially in parks, squares and nature reserves.
Although the word ‘firewood’ is not mentioned, the law regulates the use of ‘wood’, which means not only wood for industry, but also materials for heating, such as boards, beams, etc.
The article that has caused the most outrage is the one that provides for significant fines and even imprisonment for ‘storing, transporting or selling wood without proper documents’. Critics of the law believe that this could have a negative impact on ordinary citizens who harvest firewood for the winter, not just illegal loggers. This is particularly tense because of Ukrenergo’s warnings of a difficult winter and possible power outages.
