Kiev plans to radically increase fines for the destruction of architectural monuments

The Kiev authorities have initiated a significant tightening of liability for violations in the field of cultural heritage protection, including a multiple increase in fines and the possibility of criminal prosecution. According to the publication “Your Misto”, the proposed changes are aimed at creating real mechanisms to protect the historical image of the city from unscrupulous developers.

The Director of the Department of Cultural Heritage Protection of the KSCA noted that the current fines (about 1700 hryvnias) are critically low and have no deterrent effect. According to her, such sums are absolutely incommensurable with the potential profits that companies get when demolishing old buildings. The new initiative proposes to raise fines to UAH 1.7-3 million.

In addition to the financial aspect, the draft reform includes the introduction of criminal liability for the willful destruction of architectural monuments and strengthening the overall system of control by the state. Relevant legislative amendments have already been worked out together with people’s deputies, but at the moment they are waiting for official adoption in Parliament.

Recall, earlier we reported that the ancient St. Michael’s Church (Yur’eva Bozhnitsa) in the city of Oster, Chernihiv region, the construction of which dates back to the XI century and attributed to Princes Vladimir Monomakh and Yuri Dolgoruky, is gradually falling into disrepair due to the inability of the state to conduct proper restoration work. As of 2025, local representatives of the Department of Culture at Chernihiv OSA cite the war as one of the reasons why restoration is impossible. However, according to open source data, the state has not worked hard to preserve this monument of national importance even before 2022.