Compensation will only be provided for property damaged or destroyed from February 24, 2022.

The Verkhovna Rada adopted a law on the creation of a state register of property damaged and destroyed by the war and the procedure for compensation from the state for it.

As People’s Deputy Yaroslav Zheleznyak reported in Telegram, 275 deputies voted for the relevant decision.

“Main innovations: compensation will be provided exclusively for property (damaged/destroyed) from February 24, 2022; valid for three years after the termination or cancellation of martial law in the territory where such an object is (was); the law will not apply to objects , who were in the temporarily occupied territory on the date of the introduction of martial law, compensation is offered exclusively for damaged or destroyed residential real estate: apartments, other residential premises (for example, rooms in dormitories), manor-type houses, garden and country houses, construction objects , in which load-bearing and external structures are erected; the right to compensation will be given to natural persons – citizens of Ukraine, who are the owners,” the deputy noted.

Also, according to him, according to the law, persons from the sanctions lists, with convictions for crimes against the foundations of national security and their heirs will not be able to receive compensation. In addition, it will be impossible to receive monetary compensation for damaged property – for such cases, only restoration through construction works or provision of construction materials for them is offered.

“Owners of destroyed apartments and other residential premises will receive a housing certificate – a document confirming the state’s guarantee to finance the purchase of an apartment or other residential premises (including one that will be built in the future) in the amount of a certain amount of money. Owners of private houses will have a choice – receive a housing certificate for the purchase of an apartment or house or monetary compensation, which will be transferred to an account with a special mode of use for financing construction, the maximum amount of compensation, both monetary and in the form of a housing certificate, is absent, as well as restrictions on the location, type and area of ​​new housing, the construction of which will be financed by the certificate,” Zheleznyak said.

At the same time, according to the law, the certificate can be used within five years from the date of its issuance, and alienation within five years, except for inheritance, is prohibited.

“If the price of housing is lower than the amount specified in the certificate, the unreceived part of the compensation will be paid to the recipient only at the expense of the funds received from the Russian Federation for compensation for damages. The deadline for submitting an application for compensation for destroyed residential property has been extended to the second reading – it can be submitted in time effect of martial law and within one year from the date of its termination. It will be necessary to attach a copy of the document confirming ownership or acquisition of real estate to the application and, if available, photo and video recording materials before or after destruction. Review applications and make a decision on granting or refusal to provide compensation for destroyed property, there will be a commission to review issues regarding the provision of compensation. Such commissions are formed by executive bodies of local councils, military and military-civilian administrations of settlements,” Zheleznyak said.

He added that the sources of funding for compensation for damaged and destroyed property will be: funds from the state and local budgets; funds of international financial organizations, other creditors and investors; international technical and/or reciprocated or non-reciprocal financial assistance; reparations or other charges from the Russian Federation; other sources that are not prohibited by the legislation of Ukraine, including local funds created for the purpose of providing compensation and restoration of damaged/destroyed (destroyed) real estate objects.

War in Ukraine and reparations

Former US ambassador to Ukraine, vice-president of the US Institute of Peace, William Taylor, during the first parliamentary summit of the international Crimea platform, said that Russia should answer for war crimes and destruction and pay from $750 billion to $1 trillion in reparations for the reconstruction of Ukraine.

In September 2022, Ukraine’s Justice Minister Denys Malyuska announced that Ukraine would demand at least $300 billion in reparations from Russia for the damage caused by the Russian invasion.

Advisor to the President’s Office, Oleksiy Arestovych, believes that Russia will definitely pay reparations to Ukraine. According to him, the West has already started discussing this issue, and it is serious.

On November 14, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution on Ukraine’s reparations from Russia. 13 countries did not support the resolution. Among them are Belarus, the Central African Republic, China, Cuba, the DPRK, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Iran, Mali, Nicaragua, the Russian Federation, Syria and Zimbabwe.

On November 14, 2022, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Richard Mills commented on the adoption by the UN General Assembly of a resolution on creating a register of damages caused to Ukraine as a result of the war unleashed by Russia.