Business and the environment: how environmental impact assessments are carried out in southern Ukraine

Oak trees on the site where a petrol station is planned. Photo: NikVesti

In 2025, companies submitted hundreds of environmental impact assessment reports, without which it is impossible to launch major infrastructure and industrial projects. In the south of the country, Odesa region showed the greatest activity, whilst in Kherson region, due to the war, the number of such initiatives remains minimal.

This is evidenced by data from YouControl, reports NikVesti.

In the Mykolaiv region, 29 environmental impact assessment reports were submitted, in the Odesa region — 80, and in the Kherson region only 3.

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The largest number of reports were submitted by companies registered in Kyiv — 279. Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions also demonstrate high activity. From a regional perspective, a significant proportion of projects are linked to the development of agro-industrial complexes, the construction of wind farms, and the expansion of quarries and transport infrastructure.

In total, in 2025, entrepreneurs in Ukraine submitted 951 environmental impact assessment reports. As of October, approximately one-third of the applications — 341 projects — had received a positive conclusion.

The average processing time for a single case was 131 days, or around four months. The minimum processing time was 51 days, and the maximum was 257.

Environmental impact assessments across Ukraine. Infographic: YouControl

The vast majority of applicants are legal entities — 95.5% of all reports submitted. Sole traders participate in the procedure much less frequently. The highest number of EIA procedures in 2025 were initiated in the following sectors:

• agriculture — 177 reports;
• extraction of non-metallic minerals — 95;
• gas and oil industry — 76;
• transport and logistics — 63;
• electricity — 56;
• government and community projects — 31.

The most common types of environmental impact assessment activities across Ukraine. Infographic: YouControl

It should be noted that the environmental impact assessment report, on the basis of which the company «Svit Zdoroviia» obtained approval for the construction of a petrol station complex in Mykolaiv within a green zone near residential buildings opposite the Zoria-Mashproekt plant, was signed by the Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, Vitalii Kindrativ, who served as Deputy Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration in 2016–2017.

It was previously reported that the Mykolaiv Department of Housing and Communal Services had identified inaccuracies in the environmental impact assessment report concerning the construction of a petrol station complex in Mykolaiv in the park near «Zoria». They are proposing that the company abandon the construction or relocate the facility to another site.