They want to expand humanitarian aid for strategic enterprises, but the Parliament fears its commercial use

The Verkhovna Rada proposes to allow strategic enterprises to receive firefighting equipment as humanitarian aid from international partners. At the same time, the Parliamentary Research Service noted that some provisions of the bill may create ambiguous interpretations regarding the use of humanitarian aid by business entities and require further refinement.

The bill No. 15250 dated May 15, 2026, provides for amendments to Article 15 of the Law of Ukraine "On Humanitarian Aid."

As previously reported by the "Judicial and Legal Newspaper", the need for changes arises from the fact that due to the full-scale war, the risks of fires and other emergencies at facilities classified as civil protection objects of special importance, first and second categories, have significantly increased. To protect them, it is necessary to update firefighting equipment, but current legislation does not allow such business entities to receive fire trucks as humanitarian aid.

The bill proposes to grant such enterprises the status of recipients and acquirers of humanitarian aid.

It is also proposed to establish that the use of received humanitarian aid by such enterprises and state fire-rescue units that protect them on a contractual basis will not be considered the use of humanitarian aid for profit. This rule will apply during martial law and for 12 months after its termination or cancellation.

Furthermore, the bill prohibits alienation or transfer of such humanitarian aid to other persons, except for free transfer between recipients, acquirers, or authorized civil protection bodies.

At the same time, the provision regarding "non-profit use" caused the most concerns in parliament.

What is the problem

The Verkhovna Rada noted that the proposed changes require additional clarification. In particular, the bill proposes to grant the status of recipients and acquirers of humanitarian aid to business entities classified as civil protection objects of special importance, first and second categories. According to the Law "On Humanitarian Aid," recipients of humanitarian aid can simultaneously be its acquirers.

Moreover, Article 12 of the Law "On Humanitarian Aid" defines that the use of humanitarian aid for profit is a violation of the law and entails criminal or administrative liability.

Meanwhile, the bill proposes to establish that the use of humanitarian aid by business entities and state fire-rescue units (parts) of the Operational Rescue Service of Civil Protection will not be considered its use for profit. Therefore, these provisions are controversial and require clarification.

It is also emphasized that according to part three of Article 94 of the Civil Protection Code of Ukraine, the financial support of civil protection units of business entities is carried out at the expense of such business entities.

For this reason, the provisions of the bill regarding the use of humanitarian aid by business entities require additional legislative clarification to avoid ambiguous interpretation and ensure compliance with the principles of humanitarian aid legislation.

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