During the 3rd All-Ukrainian Land Forum 2026 in Lviv, First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Denys Bashlyk announced the government’s readiness to develop instruments that would allow ill-considered large-scale developments to be halted. As one example, he cited the situation with the planned residential development in Sokilnyky near Lviv airport.
The issue of land seizure and use in the suburban area was raised by Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi. He stressed that there is a pattern of systematic unauthorised occupation of plots, with developers’ actions being coordinated with various agencies, and that, in his words, there are many such cases.
Sadovyi drew attention to the conflict surrounding the Sokilnyky community. According to him, this community received dozens of hectares of land that for a long time had been considered a reserve for the airport’s expansion. There is now a proposal to build a high-rise residential complex there and increase the population of Sokilnyky from around 9,000 to 50,000 residents without adequate infrastructure – water supply, sewerage, schools, medical and social facilities.
The Mayor also noted that the development project is causing concern at the Ministry of Defence and among the military, as it could make further development of the airport infrastructure impossible. He added that supporters of the development are trying to push changes through a decision of the Lviv District Council on new boundaries for Sokilnyky and the approval of the master plan.
In response, Denys Bashlyk emphasised that the state must protect land resources from haphazard use, including in frontline-adjacent and airport-adjacent zones.
“The chaos that is taking place cannot create opportunities for fraudsters who may exploit land resources. Sooner or later the war will end, but there will be no more land – we all understand that. That is why we must preserve what we have” – Denys Bashlyk
The official assured that the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food is ready, together with communities, to develop additional mechanisms to help counter such developments and to make existing control instruments more effective.
The All-Ukrainian Land Forum 2026, now being held in Lviv for the third time, has this year brought together over 150 participants and 28 speakers from 15 regions of Ukraine. The event is organised by the Department of Natural Resources and Construction of the Lviv City Council.
Deputy Director of the Department and Forum organiser Svitlana Bordiyan said that Lviv has become a platform for a nationwide discussion in the field of land relations. The forum features panels with representatives of central and local government, Members of Parliament, judges, barristers, lawyers and land surveyors. Topics under discussion include case law on land violations, the possible restoration of state oversight, afforestation of land, and the powers of local self-government bodies in monitoring and controlling the use of plots.
The organisers recall that last year’s forum in Lviv focused on the dismantling of unauthorised constructions, land policy during the war and in the post-war period. The current event is intended to continue these discussions and to develop concrete recommendations for the Government and the Prime Minister on strengthening control over land use in Ukrainian communities.