Ukraine's damage register opens its final categories

The September 30 change concerns state and municipal losses: environmental damage, the appropriation of natural resources, and other property losses. Across the whole register, 43 categories are now open: 21 for individuals, 11 for legal entities and 11 for the Ukrainian state.

This gives public authorities a defined place to document injuries to landscapes and ecosystems alongside the already available categories for people, homes and businesses. The distinction between documentation and redress remains essential. The register checks whether a claim can enter the record; it does not decide its merits, establish its value or award money. The Council of Europe's current account says work to establish the International Claims Commission is continuing. Neither a payment date nor a guaranteed recovery follows from filing.

For an eligible public body, the useful next step is to examine the environmental-damage service in Diia. It accepts claims concerning Russia's internationally wrongful acts in Ukraine, including territorial waters, on or after February 24, 2022. A representative must supply evidence of the damage and the basis for the claimed amount. Private individuals and businesses should use the categories appropriate to their own losses; these final three openings do not newly admit every claimant.