The Kyiv Commercial Court cited reporting by two Mykolaiv-based media outlets, Nikcenter and MykVisti, in a ruling concerning unlawful use of military ranges for farming.
The ruling, issued on 10 August by Judge Roman Boiko, was reviewed by Kateryna Sereda, the Institute of Mass Information’s representative in Mykolaiv oblast.
The case concerned the use of land owned by the Kyiv–Oleksanria aviation range and the Shyrokyi Lan range in Mykolaiv oblast. The ruling says that over 15,600 hectares of land in these two ranges alone had been allocated for farming as of 2016.
The court ruled that the “joint land use” agreements handing the land over to agricultural producers effectively disguised lease deals and had been reached without tender competition and at prices substantially below market rates.
The ruling points out that journalists have been reporting on the issue for years, citing a MykVisti article and a Nikcenter investigation as examples.
The court issued a separate ruling addressed to the Cabinet of Ministers, pointing out the government’s more than 22 years of inaction in approving the statutory procedure for commercial use of land allocated for defence purposes. The court proposed that the Ministry of Defence carry out an audit and inventory of the lands handed over, put a stop to their unlawful use, initiate the prosecution of those responsible, and recover the resulting losses and unearned revenue.
The Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Defence were given three months to report to the court regarding the action taken or planned to address the issue. The ruling took legal effect on 10 August and may be appealed within ten days.
Earlier, an investigation by MykVisti prompted the Mykolaiv District Prosecutor’s Office to file a motion against gas station construction on a land plot in a grove.
NikCenter and MykVisti are included in the latest Map of Recommended Media Outlets by the Institute of Mass Information and Detector Media.
