The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine adopted draft law No. 11024, which prohibits travel by cars and other means of transport on the territories and objects of the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine. During the vote, the draft law was passed in the second reading and as a whole, and now this law must enter into force after the signature of the president.
The initiator of draft law No. 11024 is Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. This document was developed at the behest of President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, who responded to the electronic petition No. 22/163240-ep "On the Regulation of Jeeping in Ukraine".
"Greens" and ecologists have long tried to ban jeeping in protected areas, including in the Carpathians. And now they have succeeded at the all-Ukrainian level. Previously, such bans were introduced at the local level. For example, jeeping was banned in Ivano-Frankivsk region a few years ago.
In the fall of 2023, the Kyiv City Council registered a draft decision to prohibit jeeping in protected areas of Kyiv, developed with the participation of the Kyiv Ecological and Cultural Center. In February 2024, the Kyiv City Council approved this Project. Now it is not possible to hold competitions, races, rallies and trophy raids on jeeps and ATVs on the territories of the natural reserve fund of the capital.
Before the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian occupying forces, special jeeping raids were often conducted in our country. Sometimes their route ran through nature reserves. So, as far back as 2011, the organizers of the Ukraine-Trophy Jeeping Raid had to spend time and effort to change the route under the pressure of environmentalists, as it initially passed through the territories of the Polissky and Rivne reserves.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy must sign the law on the prohibition of travel by cars and other means of transport on the territories and objects of the nature reserve fund. Then the law will be published in the state media and it will enter into force.
After that, it will not be possible to drive vehicles in the protected areas of Ukraine. The exception is public roads, streets and roads of populated areas, highways on private territories. An exception is also made for local residents and for tourists traveling along tourist routes.
If an individual violates this law, he will be fined from UAH 8,500 to UAH 17,000. If the violator is a legal entity, the fine will be from UAH 17,000 to UAH 25,000.
