The President’s Office Fails to Publish a Petition to Zelensky Demanding the Protection of the Carpathians

On February 15, veteran and ecologist Andriy Tupikov submitted a petition demanding that the President urgently submit a draft law to the Verkhovna Rada to regulate the special conditions for the sustainable development of the Carpathian region and ensure the protection of its unique natural complexes, landscapes, and culture. However, as reported by the public initiative “Holka,” the petition had not been published on the President’s Office website as of February 19, even though the law stipulates a two-working-day timeframe for publication.

Tupikov created the petition due to the emerging threat of development in the high-altitude areas of the Carpathians. This month, the Ministry of Economy issued a positive environmental impact assessment for the construction of wind turbines on the Runa mountain pasture (Polonyna Runa), a decision heavily criticized by ecologists.

The development on the mountain pasture is being carried out by a company closely linked to former Party of Regions member Maksym Yefimov. The road leading to the pasture, which the business will highly likely use to transport and install the wind turbines, is being built by the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” at its own expense. Virgin forests are being cut down during this construction. The construction of the foundations for the wind turbines began before official permission for the project’s implementation was granted.

Tupikov points out that the demands in the petition text are completely lawful:

Andriy Tupikov

Veteran and ecologist

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I wrote that the President must submit a draft law that makes clear-cutting of forests impossible, as well as any forms of large-scale construction and the placement of related engineering infrastructure in areas above 1,000 meters above sea level, and in other natural areas of key importance for the preservation of biodiversity, water resources, and landscapes. Furthermore, it is absolutely necessary to create new and expand existing protected areas in the Carpathians, in particular: the 'Vilnyi Svydovets', 'Polonyna Hostra', 'Polonyna Krasna', 'Polonyna Apetska', 'Polonyna Bychkiv', 'Liutianska Holytsia', and 'Verkhovynskyi Vododilnyi Khrebet' nature reserves, and the 'Velychni Karpaty' and 'Verkhovynskyi' national nature parks. Petitions for this were submitted to the relevant ministry a long time ago.

Tupikov does not understand why the petition has not appeared on the President’s Office website after four working days.

Mykhailo Leichenko, Director of the Center for Innovations Development for IT and Analytics, who participated in the development of the petition tool, explains that if an electronic petition meets all legal requirements, it is subject to publication within two working days from the moment of its registration.

Mykhailo Leichenko

Director of the Center for Innovations Development for IT and Analytics, co-developer of the petition tool

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This is not just a legal norm, but a guarantee that the people's agenda cannot be postponed or ignored. It is precisely from the date of publication that signature collection begins, and from this moment, the citizens' initiative becomes a public obligation for the authorities to consider. Petitions are a mechanism for the direct participation of the people in shaping state decisions and the practical embodiment of democratic values and the government's responsibility to society.

As a reminder, during the collection of signatures for the petition to Volodymyr Zelensky demanding a veto on Ihor Mazepa’s harmful law (Draft Law 12089), citizens massively complained about being unable to sign the petition. The law, as noted in the European Parliament, is essentially aimed at legalizing stolen forests and coastlines.

The Ministry of Environment opposed this draft law and recommended that President Volodymyr Zelensky veto it. Following this, the Ministry of Environment was liquidated, merged with the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy into a single institution.

Despite appeals from nearly 130 organizations, initiated by “Environment-People-Law” alongside “Holka,” the Parliament has yet to restore the work of the specialized ministry.