“None of the commissions on compensation for damaged or destroyed housing we spoke to know how remote inspection will work” — Yuliia Matviichuk, Human Rights Coordinator at East SOS, at the National Forum
Yuliia Matviichuk, Human Rights Coordinator at East SOS, took part in the National Forum “From Destruction to Recovery: Ensuring Effective Access to the National Compensation Mechanism and Alternative Opportunities”, organized by the Right to Protection Foundation.
The forum became a platform for experts to discuss the challenges, best practices, and prospects for improving the national compensation mechanism for housing affected by russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine.
In her speech, Yuliia highlighted that since 2022, the East SOS team of field lawyers has provided over 67,000 consultations, with about 80% related to compensation for destroyed and damaged property. She noted that the compensation mechanism is in place and functioning, and many people have already received payments. At the same time, numerous concerns remain, along with ideas for improvement.
The panel discussion paid special attention to the work of compensation commissions. Yuliia thanked them for their dedication, noting that they operate under tight deadlines and in dangerous conditions, making regular visits and holding meetings. However, she pointed out the shortage of professional specialists, particularly those with construction expertise. As a result, commissions often require additional technical inspection reports — a costly step that can significantly increase expenses for applicants.
“Unfortunately, people often refuse to apply if they cannot find charitable assistance from foundations or NGOs to at least partially cover some of the stages,” she said.
Yuliia also stressed the lack of sufficient public awareness.
“The report of the Right to Protection Foundation [referring to the report presented during the forum] states that six percent of people have not heard of the compensation mechanism. Another 30% have heard but do not fully understand what it is, or do not know how to apply. This is a catastrophic situation,” she explained.
Yuliia concluded that information problems persist across all areas, making it essential to raise awareness and strengthen cooperation with commissions.
The foundation’s representative also raised concerns about the newly introduced mechanism for remote housing inspections.
“None of the commissions on compensation for damaged or destroyed housing we spoke to know how remote inspection will work. Even after training. We spoke about a lot of risks, such as the use of UAVs and drones for surveys,” Yuliia explained.
She further highlighted other problematic issues: difficulties in obtaining consent from co-owners (when it is impossible to obtain consent for compensation for any reason); discrepancies in terminology between laws and resolutions (the law refers to common destroyed property, the resolution refers to common areas); and the inability to receive compensation for non-privatized property or for property located in temporarily occupied territories (TOT).
“We definitely need to start thinking about accounting for property located in the TOT since 2014. We don’t need to assure people that we can provide them with compensation now, but we need to at least give them the opportunity to state that they have suffered and can account for what they have lost. This is also an important step towards Ukraine declaring the damage that was done to it by russia,” she concluded.
Follow the link to listen to the discussion.
Recently, a Senior Lawyer at East SOS took part in the Donbas Realities project, where they spoke about Resolution No. 815, which introduces a mechanism for remote inspection of destroyed housing.
