On April 29, 2025, employees of ICO “Environment-People-Law” made a field trip to the Runa (Rivna) mountain meadow that is part of the Polonynskyi ridge within Zakarparttia region. The reason for this trip was the fact that we were informed about ongoing construction works on the Runa mountain meadow according to our data were conducted without an environmental impact assessment. The Runa mountain meadow is a valuable and vulnerable mountain ecosystem and thus construction and operation of a wind farm can destroy it.
While climbing the mountain on its slopes from the side of the village of Lypovets, EPL experts observed along the concrete road construction works and operation of heavy equipment: concrete mixers, drilling rigs, dump trucks, graders, excavators, rollers, cranes, and all-terrain vehicles. Totally 17 units of heavy equipment have been noticed. Also, it was notable that the road was widened by trimming tree branches thus allowing heavy equipment to pass outside the concrete road. The road was reinforced with crushed stone, and in some places, excavated soil was dumped next to the road. On the slopes, there are traces of fresh trenches, the purpose of which is so far difficult to understand.
Anatoliy Pavelko, senior lawyer and environmental scientist of EPL, shares his impressions: “We are ascending to the Runa mountain meadow along the mountain slopes. So far, we are surrounded by clean mountain air, bright and delicate greenery of spring plants, and the sound of water flowing down mountain streams.
Here is the Runa mountain meadow. It stands out sharply from the surrounding landscape: there is practically no forest on it, and the dominant color at this time of year is brown, which contrasts especially with the greenery of the forests below. This color of the meadow comes from the bushes of blueberries and lingonberries, which welcome spring in this very attire.
At first we didn’t see the construction work but we heard it. Against the background of the noise of the forests and the wind, and the singing of birds, a sound that was clearly foreign to the mountains was piercing our ears: the sound of construction equipment working. We move towards the sound. A few dozen meters further, a picture opens up: a construction site with plenty of equipment. Some of the equipment is working. The construction site is next to a concrete road that was once built to an abandoned Soviet military base. We can see piles of compacted soil, destroyed vegetation. It wouldn’t be surprising to see such a site somewhere in the city, but not on a mountain meadow. An artificial gap has been created on the slope towards the forest. The old beech forest is located very close by. In the forests, from April 1 to June 15 is the season of silence when animals reproduce. However, the noise from the construction site is so loud that one has to shout in order to hear each other within the distance of 3-4 meters.
The top layer of soil was removed on the construction site No. 1 without taking into account any measures to preserve the vegetation and soil cover, the soil was “dumped” on both sides of the site, and an artificial embankment was created from the slope. The vegetation here has been destroyed. The excavation pit is being constructed. When EPL environmental scientists were exploring the area, the works were underway, the equipment was working. A container for temporary stay of builders and a generator are located near the construction site.
On the construction site # 2, part of the slope, soil and vegetation cover have been destroyed. There are 2 units of heavy equipment on the site. The pit has been dug and filled with rubble.
Some preparatory works can be seen along the road on the construction site #3: a slope was dug up, soil and vegetation have been destroyed. Surface deposits were damaged, and boulders were displaced by the work. Heavy equipment was there.
EPL environmental scientist Kateryna Polyanska talks about the value of the mountain meadow: “Landscapes of the Runy mountain meadow are incredible in their endless spaces, surrounded by forest massifs, in particular the Turye-Polyanskyi nature reserve and „Falcon Cliffs” nature reserve, the mountain meadow is covered with shrub vegetation where blueberries prevail. The maximum height of the mountain is about 1480 meters. It would be a great pity if such landscapes were disturbed and forever spoiled by wind turbines.
When exploring the area of the construction, we observed 3 predator birds (materials were submitted for identification). The Runa mountain meadow is also a valuable nature conservation area of international importance, proposed to be included into the Emerald Network.
On the Runa mountain meadow, there are mountain sod-brown soils, which are especially valuable soils in Ukraine. Since soil is a natural system consisting of morphological elements of different levels (genetic horizons, neoplasms, inclusions, etc.), which are characterized by different structures, its destruction is inevitable when concreting areas near wind turbines, as well as when carrying out other engineering works, which can also activate such processes as landslides, erosion and subsidence.
The scale of the destruction of nature is impressive. And these are only two excavation pits while according to published plans, about 30 wind turbines are planned to be built on the Runa mountain meadow.
What will this mean for the Runa mountain meadow? Its destruction. What does this mean for those who value and protect the nature of the Carpathians? It is a call to fight for preservation of the Runa mountain meadow for future generations in its natural form, as a home for plants and animals, as a place for formation of watercourses, nesting and migration of birds, a place for picking berries, a place for tourism and recreation. And for wind energy, there are many places in Ukraine where it can operate without significant harm to the environment.
EPL continues its legal work to protect Runa mountain meadow from destruction, together with other organizations and citizens who care about it.
Photo and video materials from EPL.
P.S. In the adjacent area, EPL investigated evidence of a crime related to logging of virgin forests by the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” to construct the road to Runa mountain meadow. Some locals linked this road to the construction of wind farms. See more details on this in our next report.
