Rada passes European Solidarity's shelter bill in first reading
The Verkhovna Rada has passed in first reading the bill "On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Measures to Ensure Citizens’ Safety During a Special Period," which provides for the construction of shelters and was earlier submitted by MPs from the European Solidarity faction.
According to the parliament’s website, 296 MPs voted in favor of the bill, No. 15397, at Wednesday’s session. No one voted against, and only one lawmaker abstained. Thirty-nine MPs did not vote.
"We drew on Finland’s experience with access to shelters. Second, we’re talking about the need to strengthen the accountability of both central and local authorities for building shelters, and for allocating funding for that. It’s very important that we’re considering this bill just ahead of the start of the budget process," said Iryna Herashchenko, co-chair of the European Solidarity faction.
As previously reported, the European Solidarity faction first submitted a bill on shelters back in 2023, which was never passed. Bill No. 15397 is a revised version of that earlier proposal. It provides for guaranteed, unimpeded access to protective structures for people during martial law, clear requirements for shelters’ readiness and technical equipment, regular inspections of their condition, stronger accountability for their upkeep, and support for expanding the network of shelters, including modular structures.
It was reported on August 18 that the parliamentary Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management had unanimously supported the bill.