“Kazkovyi iar”: tourist Kyiv region will be turned into industrial zone if Zelensky signs law 9627

In Kazkovyi Yar (Fairy Ravine) in the Kyiv region, music videos were filmed for Alyona Alyona and KOLA’s “Nebо Khylit’sia,” Jerry Heil’s “Blaгoslavlena Zemlia.”

Additionally, Pianoбой and Джамала collaborated here on the filming of “Endorphins.”

Moreover, this location was used for filming movies such as “Zakhar Berkut,” “Toloka,” and “Storozhova Zastava.”

And now, on the agricultural land, they are planning to build an industrial facility. If allowed, it will be within the sanitary zone of Kazkove Yar, posing a threat to the destruction of Didenetske Ravine.

In the regional council, they explain what they want to build here.

Is there a threat to the natural resources, and if so, what is it?

Roman Tytykalo

Deputy of the Kyiv Regional Council (European Solidarity), Chairman of the Environmental Commission

The Kyiv Regional Council has established a landmark - the Kazkovi Yar reserve. Indeed, there are plans to change the land use near it, and as far as I know, to build an asphalt plant. It has a protective zone of 1 kilometer. And it turns out that all of this overlaps with the sanitary zone of the reserve. Making an industrial zone will now be much easier, as in February, members of parliament supported the controversial bill "Servant of the People" by Dmytro Kysylevskyi (9627), lobbying for which is associated with the deputy head of the Office of the President Rostyslav Shurma.

Under the guise of reconstruction, investors are given the right to build industrial facilities on agricultural land without the need for public hearings. This was previously reported by the civic initiative “Holka”. Foreign investors are definitely not the ones benefiting, but rather those close to power who know how quickly land use can be changed. Moreover, under these conditions, Ukraine is also undermining the environmental standards crucial for European integration. Currently, the bill 9627 has been sent to the president for signature.

Still frame from the music video ‘Nebо Khylit’sya’

“The Vasilkiv City Council, together with the head of the community Natalia Balasinovych, agreed to develop a detailed plan for the area near Kazkovi Yar, and agricultural land would be converted into an industrial zone. However, public opinion stands in the way, and until the president signs this law, they have the opportunity to disagree with such a decision. Public hearings were held twice, and their organizer, the urban planning and architecture department under the skilled leadership of Orest Shamayev, as is traditionally done, tried to create a majority from budget employees, students, and pensioners,” said Svitlana Bondar, head of the NGO “Kazkovi Yar.”

Photo from the NGO “Kazkovi Yar”: public hearings in Vasilkiv.

This is not the first case when local authorities try to conduct pseudo-public hearings. The authorities in Irpin did something similar.

After unsuccessful attempts, the authorities of the Vasilkiv region may try to hold hearings again, and locals understand that if the president signs the scandalous bill, they will lose the opportunity to block this initiative. Removing the tool of public hearings and depriving residents of communities of the ability to influence the situation when someone wants to build an industrial zone on agricultural land is not the only risk.

Photo: Didenetske Ravine, Vasilkov.info

Cultural and archaeological heritage and natural reserve funds will be affected, as evidenced by the case in the Vasilkiv region.

There is cultural and archaeological heritage here. These lands were supposed to be reflected in the State Land Cadastre and in the State Register of Immovable Monuments. All this was supposed to be under the protection of the Ministry of Culture, but only if the monument was indeed included in the cadastre and register.

What archaeological discoveries have been made here and why isn't this territory on the register?

Vyacheslav Baranov

Representative of the Institute of Archaeology of the National Academy of Sciences

The situation is quite typical and indicative of the unhealthy attitude of community leaders towards archaeological sites, treating them as their own territory that can be used for construction. Regarding Vasilkovshchyna, it is home to a multi-layered archaeological site - Tripolian, Bronze Age, Chernyakhivska, and ancient Rus. It would seem logical to use this for tourism development — along with the natural object. A great solution would be an archaeological park. This is what they do in Europe. But what do we have here? Development. It is now urgent to inform the regional administration to have the site registered. Generally, the situation with the registration of monuments in Kyiv region is the worst. From 2010 to 2020, no archaeological monument was registered in the region. And this was done consciously, as the status of a monument immediately puts a stop to land privatization.

The area in question was indeed explored by archaeologists 20 years ago.

The response from the mayor, Balasinovych, indicates that there are no officially registered objects of cultural and archaeological heritage in this area. The absence of registration means that the state does not see anything worth protecting. In effect, the archaeological heritage could be destroyed.

For the state and local authorities to recognize the heritage that needs to be preserved, it should be reflected on the State Cadastral Map.

However, neither the cadastral nor the registry information regarding these objects in Vasilkovshchyna has been entered, allowing developers of detailed territorial plans to disregard this data in urban planning documentation. Moreover, with the change of land use under draft law 9627, there will be no safeguard to help preserve lands of historical and cultural significance.

Any change in land use from agricultural to industrial, as in the case of Vasilkovshchyna, poses a threat to the destruction of monuments. And protecting this now will become impossible.

The same applies to the natural reserve fund. The Kyiv Regional Council has decided that Kazkovyi Yar becomes a reserve, but the documentation has not yet been developed, and the information has not been entered into the cadastre, allowing actions as permitted by draft law 9627 under a simplified procedure for changing agricultural lands to industrial objects. The sanitary zone of Kazkovyi Yar is not included in the State Land Cadastre.

So, if the president signs law 9627, the community will lose any influence, and no one will protect either the cultural and archaeological heritage or the natural reserve fund. And this concerns not only Vasilkovshchyna. These will be the rules of the game for the entire Ukraine, supposedly created for reconstruction and investment.

Specially for “Glavkom“.