The Ukrainian Agri Council (UAC) appealed to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Vice Prime Minister for the Restoration of Ukraine - Minister of Community and Territorial Development Oleksii Kuleba, and Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food Vitalii Koval regarding the unlawful cancellation of a 30% discount on the transportation of agricultural products from the frontline territories to Ukrainian ports by Ukrzaliznytsia.

The UAC emphasizes that on March 20, 2025, Ukrzaliznytsia stopped providing the discount, citing a new order of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development No. 376 of February 28, 2025, which approved an updated list of combat areas. At the same time, Ukrzaliznytsia believes that due to the cancellation of the previous order of the Ministry of Reintegration, the grounds for granting a preferential tariff have also lost their validity.

However, as emphasized in the appeal, this position of Ukrzaliznytsia is legally unjustified. The Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 129 of February 9, 2024 and the Order No. 380-r of April 30, 2024, which provide for compensation for the company's losses due to the discount, remain in force. It was on their basis that Ukrzaliznytsia was allowed to retain part of its profit for 2023.

“Since none of these acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has lost its validity, they are binding on all entities throughout Ukraine,” the UAC noted.

In addition, these governmental documents do not contain references to the date of the order that defines the list of territories of hostilities, and there cannot be, because this order is constantly updated due to changes in the list of such areas.

“The above-mentioned acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine contain references only to the relevant list of territories and do not specify the details of the specific order that defines such a list, and therefore the new order of the Ministry of Community and Territorial Development should be applied by JSC Ukrzaliznytsia when granting the relevant discount,” is mentioned in the appeal.

The UAC believes that Ukrzaliznytsia's approach to the application of the law is not only irresponsible to farmers who operate in extremely difficult conditions and risk their lives by continuing to work, but also extremely unjustified in law.

The UAC demands that the government and relevant ministries ensure the implementation of the current legislation on granting 30 percent discount to the established tariffs for export transportation of agricultural products from the frontline territories.

“We demand to immediately intervene in the situation and ensure that JSC Ukrzaliznytsia unconditionally complies with the requirements of the above acts of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine regarding the provision of a discount for the transportation of agricultural products from the frontline territories to Ukrainian ports,” the UAC emphasized.