On 17 December 2024, a consultative meeting was held for local councils and residents of territorial communities of Vinnytsia region on environmental safety within the framework of cooperation between the Vinnytsia branch of the Legal Clinic of Kharkiv National University of Internal Affairs and the Vinnytsia Regional Association of Local Self-Government Bodies.

The experts were Oleksii Shumilo, Head of the Department of Legal Disciplines of Sumy Branch of KhNUIA, and Tetiana Kozlovska, Head of the Department of Aviation Transport of Kremenchuk Flight College of KhNUIA.

Deputy Head of the Secretariat of the Vinnytsia Regional Association of Local Self-Government Bodies Svitlana Buyalska noted that under martial law, local governments face an extremely difficult task – to take measures to respond to environmental problems, the majority of which are related to the consequences of the terrorist actions of the aggressor state.

Oleksii Shumilo answered questions about the right to water fund lands, analysed the peculiarities of granting permits for emissions of substances that pollute the atmosphere from stationary sources, how to reduce the negative impact on the atmosphere and public health in the context of massive use of generators during scheduled power outages. The expert also discussed the peculiarities of protecting the population from the harmful effects of noise in accordance with the Law of Ukraine ‘On the Public Health System’, addressed the issue of temporary prohibition (suspension) or termination of activities of enterprises, institutions, organisations and facilities in case of violation of environmental protection legislation under martial law, and response and levers of influence of local governments on business entities that violate environmental legislation.

Tatyana Kozlovska considered the essence of technogenic and environmental hazards, provided statistics that clearly demonstrate the damage caused by the armed aggression of the Russian Federation to the natural environment in terms of resources, analysed the specifics of environmental pollution due to attacks on industrial facilities, the causes of air pollution, legal liability for violation of environmental legislation, the impact of hostilities on biodiversity, and pollution of natural waters.

The coordinators of the Vinnytsia branch of the Legal Clinic of the KhNUIA, Serhii Hirenko and Vitalii Naida, invited representatives of local communities to prepare problematic issues that will form the basis for a new cycle of consultative meetings in 2025.