On 9 September 2020, Ukraine’s Cabinet of Ministers adopted Resolution №802, launching the reform of the State Environmental Inspectorate (SEI). SEI Chairman Andrii Malovanyi announced it: “Regional branches of the State Environmental Inspectorate will be liquidated. And this is great news.” Below is a breakdown of what actually changed and how it affected emissions control and air quality monitoring practice.
What the reform did
Liquidated: Territorial bodies of SEI in Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Odesa, and Kherson oblasts.
Created: Interregional territorial bodies of the State Environmental Inspectorate:
— SEI of the Prydniprovsky District (Dnipropetrovsk + Kirovohrad oblasts).
— SEI of the Southern District (Zaporizhzhia + Kherson oblasts).
— SEI of the South-Western District (Mykolaiv + Odesa oblasts).
Some regional branches were fully liquidated, others merged into district bodies. Formally, this reduced the number of administrative units while expanding each one’s territorial coverage.
What the reform was meant to achieve
Declared objectives: reduce corruption risks (eliminating the regional attachment of inspectors to specific industrial facilities), standardise inspection methodology, increase independence from regional business elites. Merging oblasts would create larger working groups with higher qualifications and peer review.
Risks discussed at the time:
— Greater distance to inspected facilities → slower response to violations.
— Loss of local expertise about specific regional industry.
— Transitional period with some regional staff leaving and new district staff not yet onboarded.
What actually happened
In the first two years after the reform (2020–2022), SEI underwent several waves of internal restructuring. Part of the reform was implemented consistently, part stalled. By early 2022, not all district administrations had reached full operational capacity. Some inspection activities were suspended or carried out under simplified procedures.
From 24 February 2022, SEI priorities shifted radically: documenting Russia’s environmental crimes within the Operational Headquarters became the main task. Reform of regional subdivisions was effectively overshadowed by the wartime context. Resources that should have gone to completing the structural reorganisation went into surveying affected territories, damage assessment, participation in international verification missions.
How this relates to YourAirTest
Our air quality monitoring network and state inspection activity are two layers of the same question. We look at outcomes (air concentrations), SEI inspects sources (industrial enterprises). The effectiveness of both systems works best in pairs.
Before 2020, regional SEI offices were natural partners for validating our models: when we detected a PM2.5 peak near an industrial facility, the regional inspectorate could promptly check emissions. After the reform, this channel stalled for several years. From 2022, the wartime context pushed this to a low priority.
In the long run, SEI reform is the right direction. But the transitional period has dragged on, and we still don’t see stable operation of the new structure. For our users, this means: don’t rely exclusively on state emissions control. Our data and the independent EcoCity/Arnika network are an important complementary layer.
Current air quality map — at partner.yourairtest.com/map.
Ukrainian startup ecosystem: follow TechUkraine and AIN.ua — the two leading outlets covering Ukrainian deep tech, climate tech, and environmental startups.
Follow Ukrainian media: Ekonomichna Pravda, Mind.ua, and Hromadske regularly cover the environmental consequences of war, air pollution, and infrastructure risk in Ukraine.
What to do today
- Check the YourAirTest air map for your city.
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References
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine. (2020) Resolution №802 of 09.09.2020 on reorganisation of the State Environmental Inspectorate.
State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine. Official site. dei.gov.ua
European Environment Agency. (2020) Air Quality in Europe 2020 Report. EEA. EEA