08 January 2025
Recovery of war-related damages | New claim forms, rules, decisions, plans and legislative initiatives
In December 2024, the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine (Register) published the claim forms and rules for 17 categories of claims, which, among others, include:
- damage or destruction of non-residential immovable property (not related to business losses);
- damage, destruction or loss of assets;
- loss of control of property in the temporarily occupied territories;
- relocation (evacuation) of businesses;
- damage or destruction of public buildings and facilities.
As of now, the Register has published the claim forms and rules for 30 of its 45 categories of claims, which allows their preparation. The Register’s Board has also approved the remaining claim forms, which will be published upon their approval by the Conference of Participants. The forms and rules are available at https://rd4u.coe.int/en/documents.
In 2024, more than 10,000 claims in the category of damage or destruction of residential immovable property were submitted to the Register:
- geography of reported damage: 621 settlements from 19 regions and the city of Kyiv;
- types of damage: 65 per cent of claims related to damage or destruction of apartments, 35 per cent of claims related to destruction of other types of residential premises and buildings;
- main causes of damage to residential property: 30 per cent – active hostilities; 27 per cent – artillery shelling; 20 per cent – air attacks by missiles, drones or bombs; 2% per cent – destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station; 21 per cent – causes unknown;
- average claimed amount of compensation for damaged property: EUR 54,000;
- on average, each claim contained 6 additional files evidencing damage; 1,400 applicants submitted claims without additional files, but included information from various databases (external resources, including satellite images, will reportedly be used to assess such claims);
- 405 applicants have already received compensation from the State of Ukraine under the eVidnovlennia programme (submitting a claim to the Register reportedly does not affect the possibility or chances of receiving compensation under the eVidnovlennia programme and vice versa).
In December 2024, the Register announced the adoption of the first decisions on the recording of claims in the Register. The decisions concern 832 claims for damage or destruction of residential property (Category A3.1). These claims were previously submitted to Ukraine’s Register of Damaged and Destroyed Property (“RDDP”) and verified according to RDDP’s procedures, thereby streamlining their processing by the Register.
According to MPs, it is expected that:
- in 2025, all 45 Register’s categories will become open for submission of claims;
- in 2026, the Compensation Commission will become operational;
- in 2027, the first payments will be made.
MPs are working on legislative initiatives relating to:
- the launch of a register of damages caused to legal entities;
- the launch of a register of damages caused to owners of movable property;
- a new version of the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring the Rights and Freedoms of Internally Displaced Persons” envisaging simplified access to medical, educational and social services regardless of the place of registration, expansion of the compensation program for destroyed housing, and the right to priority participation in state housing programs.
If you would like to know more about the international compensation mechanism, please contact Victoria Ivasechko.
