Odesa residents in historic buildings cannot receive compensation after Russian attacks

Families in Odesa who lost their homes because a shahed hit a house that is a UNESCO monument cannot receive compensation.

The problem was reported by Anna Shelest, an Odesa resident.

According to the woman, two months have passed since the drone attack, when her house was damaged and six families, including her, were left homeless.

"It turned out that such houses "fell out" of the Ukrainian regulatory framework for compensation for damaged property. Moreover, some services cannot even take responsibility for signing our documents because we are "cultural heritage" and, accordingly, the standard assessment does not work," said the woman and added that this is the fourth house of this type in Odesa since the beginning of the war.

As it turned out, at the state level, the issue of compensation for damaged property in such buildings has remained unresolved for over a year. Moreover, even the documents cannot be signed by the relevant services, as standard procedures are not suitable for such facilities.
Since 2022, the Ministry of Culture has been aware of the problem and has even developed a methodology for compensation, but the situation has not moved forward as of January 5, 2023. During these months, virtually nothing has been done to resolve the issue, and many people in this situation simply do not receive assistance.

"I want the services to finally start working and acting, not just discussing the problem," said Shelest.

At the session on December 4, members of Odesa City Council allocated more than 92 million hryvnias in the city budget for the next year to restore residential buildings damaged by Russian strikes. In November alone, 237 residential buildings were damaged in Odesa, including 96 private houses and 141 apartment buildings. In total, 1,163 apartments were damaged, about 10,000 square meters of roofs were damaged, and almost 2,900 windows were broken.

The budget also plans to increase the maximum amount of individual financial assistance to 150 subsistence minimums, which is currently UAH 438,000, and to expand the list of assistance to include the restoration of roofs and ceilings of private homes.

In addition, members of the Odesa City Council supported funding for the repair of buildings damaged by Russian attacks. The decision was made unanimously.

Ірина Глухова