Destroyed housing in frontline areas is not being inspected, and people are not receiving compensation for it

Residents of frontline territories cannot receive compensation for destroyed housing because the mechanism for remote inspection of damaged homes is not functioning.

This was reported by Ukraine’s Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, on his Telegram channel.

According to him, the relevant ministry is holding numerous meetings, but for almost a year has taken no effective steps to amend legislation and give people a real opportunity to receive compensation. The ombudsman said this is now the third time he has appealed to Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko regarding the issuance of certificates for destroyed property in frontline areas.

He said that in Donetsk region, 65,567 applications have been submitted, of which 37,547, or 57%, have been suspended. In Pokrovsk, the figure is 79%; in Toretsk, 77%; in Kostiantynivka, 68%; and in Myrnohrad, 60%.

“To my surprise, the deputy minister voiced figures that were 16 times lower. This indicates that the relevant ministry either does not have up-to-date data or is deliberately distorting it,” Lubinets wrote.

He added that the problem is systemic in nature and is the result of imperfect regulatory rules.

“Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 815 and Methodology No. 144 do not form an integral system: there are no clear rules, the approaches are not adapted to remote formats, and the formal criteria do not take into account the real consequences of destruction. The situation is separate with apartment buildings: because each apartment is considered individually, the process is delayed, and a significant share of applications remains suspended even when the building’s destruction is obvious. As a result, a large number of applications are simply not considered on their merits,” Lubinets explained.

He said he is now expecting urgent decisions from Ukraine’s Ministry for Communities and Territories Development.

Earlier, Lubinets’s office stated that many residents of frontline territories remain under shelling because the state is not helping internally displaced persons.