KYIV. Oct 21 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Architects demand to restore access to the Unified State Electronic System in the construction sector.

"Before starting construction, the architect must upload his project to the e-system and certify it with own signature. This procedure is accompanied by validation, confirmation of the validity of its certificate. Since the middle of summer, architects have been reporting that their access to the Unified State Electronic System has been blocked. In fact, we were deprived of the right to work in the conditions of war," President of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine Oleksandr Chyzhevsky said at a press conference "Repressions of architectural society. Who is usurping right to restore Ukraine?" at Interfax-Ukraine agency on Thursday.

According to him, what is especially outrageous in this situation is that e-construction, which is part of Diia, as it turned out, can also serve as an instrument of corruption. "Someone allows himself to have a separate channel and manage this part of the registry. And nothing is happening in the public sphere – there was no announcement about the exclusion [of architects], our appeals to the ministry remain unanswered," Chyzhevsky said.

Deputy Chair of the Architectural Chamber of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine Hanna Kyriy said that by order of the Ministry of Regional Development No. 71 dated May 12, 2022, delegated powers were extended for the period of hostilities to three of the four self-regulatory organizations.

"The absence of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine there is evidence that we are under systemic pressure. The order shows that the authorities have an understanding of the need for work not to stop at construction sites during the hostilities, so that everyone can sign in the electronic register. Other than architects?" Kyriy said.

Human rights activist of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine Ihor Hets said the pressure is not on the Union of Architects, but on the entire professional community.

At the moment, the National Union of Architects of Ukraine has received a court decision, which obliges to initiate a criminal case against Director of SOE "Diia" Dmytro Petrushenko under Part 1 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code "negligence."

"Through law enforcement agencies, we will do our best to bring to criminal liability the officials of Diia and the Ministry of Regional Development responsible for this," Hets said.

At the same time, architects continue to struggle to create high-quality legislation that meets the challenges of the times.

"The reform is necessary, but not in the form in which they are now trying to implement it through bill No. 5155. The beneficiaries of this reform, according to bill No.5155, will be representatives of large developers, their rights are increased due to the curtailment of the rights of society, UTC and the professional community. They tried to implement this reform at the end of 2021 and are trying to do it now within the same framework. But now there is a completely different level of challenges and risks. But we see that the attitude of capital does not change, that even the reform does not in any way reflect on the dramatic situation of the war in the country. The implementation of the reform proposals in their current form is the creation of points of conflict, which will result in a decrease in the quality of the urban environment. We will see this not tomorrow or the day after tomorrow, it will be tangible and irreversible in six or seven years," Chair of Kyiv organization of the Architectural Chamber of the National Union of Architects of Ukraine, the commander of the mobile anti-tank group Oleksiy Shemotiuk said.

He said the quality of society depends on the quality of the architectural environment. After the war, significant funds will be invested in reconstruction. "We cannot allow the urban environment to be used only as a tool for enrichment," he said.