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Photo: Drohobychchyna Media, drogmedia.net.ua<\/em><\/p>\n Prepared by: Inha Ishchenko, <\/strong>Counsel of<\/strong> Pragma Consulting Group<\/strong><\/p>\n On 8 September 2026, the main provisions of Law of Ukraine No. 4778-IX \u201cOn Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts on Prevention of Emergencies and Elimination of Their Consequences, Formation of the Civil Protection Protective Structures Fund, and Establishment of Safety Classes and Centres\u201d entered into force, changing the approach to the mandatory construction of civil protection protective structures and dual-purpose structures.<\/em><\/p>\n The Law amends the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine and a number of other laws, including the Law of Ukraine \u201cOn Regulation of Urban Development\u201d, by setting out Part Ten of Article 31 of that Law in a new wording. Thus, instead of the provisions of the Law that had been subject to discussion in terms of their application prior to the amendments, the current provision of the Law establishes specific criteria and a clear list of facilities for which the construction of protective structures is mandatory.<\/em><\/p>\n The Law clarifies the relationship between the obligation to develop a section on engineering and technical civil protection measures and the obligation to directly construct protective structures and\/or dual-purpose structures, establishes rules for the reconstruction of existing facilities, and introduces the possibility of arranging protected spaces at the initiative of the developer.<\/em><\/p>\n The current Law of Ukraine \u201cOn Regulation of Urban Development\u201d retains the requirement to include a section on engineering and technical civil protection measures in the project documentation for facilities of consequence classes CC2 and CC3 where more than 50 persons will be permanently present or more than 100 persons will be periodically present, as well as for other facilities determined by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.<\/p>\n At the same time, the Law expressly distinguishes between these two obligations. The mere presence of a section on engineering and technical civil protection measures does not in itself mean that the project documentation must provide for the construction of a protective structure. Design solutions for the construction of civil protection protective structures and\/or dual-purpose structures must be included in such a section in the cases expressly defined by the Law.<\/p>\n Thus, the Law distinguishes between:<\/p>\n From 8 September 2026, the construction of civil protection protective structures and\/or dual-purpose structures must be provided for as mandatory during the new construction of:<\/p>\n Therefore, the Law does not establish a universal obligation to construct shelters for all facilities of consequence classes CC2 and CC3. The decisive factors are the functional purpose of the facility, the number of persons who will be present there, whether the facility belongs to critical infrastructure or to a civil protection category, and other characteristics of the specific facility.<\/p>\n One of the key novelties of the Law is the clarification of the requirements concerning reconstruction.<\/p>\n The obligation to construct a protective structure may arise during reconstruction if the functional purpose of a building or structure is changed to that of a facility for which the law expressly establishes a mandatory requirement to construct a shelter.<\/p>\n At the same time, the Law excludes the application of this obligation to the reconstruction of a non-separated part of a facility. In addition, the requirements concerning the mandatory construction of protective structures do not apply to the reconstruction of public buildings, including those of consequence classes CC2 and CC3, where more than 150 persons are permanently present or more than 500 persons are periodically present.<\/p>\n Thus, the reconstruction of existing public buildings, including retail facilities, will not in itself require the construction of a new civil protection protective structure or dual-purpose structure.<\/p>\n The exceptions set out above, as well as the list of facilities, are established directly by law and may not be extended by construction standards to cases for which the legislator has not provided for a corresponding obligation.<\/p>\n The Law introduces the concept of \u201cprotected space\u201d, which means a room or part of a building or structure whose structures are designed to reduce the impact of the side effects of conventional means of destruction during hostilities or the commission of terrorist acts.<\/p>\n Since a protected space is not part of the civil protection protective structures fund, its arrangement does not replace the construction of a protective structure in cases where such construction is mandatory under the Law. During the new construction of multi-apartment residential buildings, public buildings and structures, the project documentation may provide for the arrangement of protected spaces at the initiative of the developer. Therefore, their arrangement is a right of the developer, rather than an obligation.<\/p>\n Protected spaces may be used in cases where the Law does not require the construction of a protective structure, as one of the ways to increase the level of safety of a facility.<\/p>\n The Law sets out Part Seven of Article 34 of the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine in a new wording. The requirements for engineering and technical civil protection measures that are mandatory during the development of urban planning documentation at the regional and local levels and project documentation for the construction of facilities are determined by construction standards in accordance with the Laws of Ukraine \u201cOn Construction Standards\u201d, \u201cOn Regulation of Urban Development\u201d and \u201cOn Standardisation\u201d and are subject to mandatory consideration during the implementation of such documentation.<\/p>\n This provision should be applied together with the new wording of Part Ten of Article 31 of the Law of Ukraine \u201cOn Regulation of Urban Development\u201d. Construction standards detail the technical requirements for engineering and technical civil protection measures, whereas the cases in which the construction of a protective structure is mandatory are determined by law. During reconstruction, such an obligation arises only where the reconstruction results in a change of the functional purpose to one of the facilities defined by law, including educational, healthcare or social protection institutions. General-category public buildings are not included in this list, and the obligation does not apply to the reconstruction of a part of a facility that is not separated.<\/p>\n In addition, the Law amends Article 32 of the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine concerning primary (mobile) shelters for the population staying in places where people may gather. It also provides that radiation shelters with a capacity of up to 50 persons are designed and constructed using modular (block-modular) structures that comply with national standards, provided that such a structure complies with the requirements of construction standards developed taking into account the structural features of the production of the relevant type of product (goods). The Law also establishes the possibility for local self-government bodies to establish safety centres and for educational institutions to establish safety classes.<\/p>\n The application of the new requirements is linked to the date on which the right to perform construction works is obtained. In accordance with paragraph 6\u2079 of Section V \u201cFinal Provisions\u201d of the Law of Ukraine [text in the source is incomplete], the provisions of Part Ten of Article 31 apply to facilities for which the right to perform construction works was obtained after Law No. 4778-IX entered into force.<\/p>\n Therefore, for facilities for which such right was obtained before 8 September 2026, the presence, as part of the section on engineering and technical civil protection measures, of design solutions concerning the construction of civil protection protective structures or dual-purpose structures is not mandatory. At the same time, this provision in itself does not exempt from the obligation to develop a section on engineering and technical civil protection measures.<\/p>\n In light of the new provisions, developers, owners and users of commercial real estate should:<\/p>\n Monitoring amendments to the State Building Codes (DBN), in particular those concerning the procedure for calculating the number of persons in public and commercial buildings, is of particular importance. Approaches to calculating the number of persons may affect the classification of a specific facility as a facility for which the law provides for the mandatory construction of civil protection protective structures and\/or dual-purpose structures. In this regard, businesses should participate in public discussions of draft regulatory legal acts.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n DISCLAIMER: This newsletter has been prepared for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice, a legal opinion or a legal position regarding a specific situation. The information provided is of a general nature, does not take into account the specifics of individual legal relationships and may not be regarded as a recommendation to take or refrain from taking any actions without obtaining individual legal assistance. Legislation, subordinate regulatory legal framework and the practice of its application may change; therefore, the information is current as of the date of preparation of this newsletter.<\/p>\n <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Photo: Drohobychchyna Media, drogmedia.net.ua Prepared by: Inha Ishchenko, Counsel of Pragma Consulting Group On 8 September 2026, the main provisions of Law of Ukraine No. 4778-IX \u201cOn Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts on Prevention of Emergencies and Elimination of Their Consequences, Formation of the Civil Protection Protective Structures Fund, and Establishment of Safety Classes and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4489,"featured_media":778085,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false},"categories":[24,23],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNew approach to the mandatory construction of protective structures<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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List of facilities for which the construction of shelters is mandatory<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Rules for the reconstruction of existing public buildings<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Protected space as a new instrument<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Amendments to the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Transitional provisions<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Further steps for business<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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