Ukrainian parliamentary delegation meets with deputies of the Bundestag
09 September 2025, 15:29
On 8 September, at the invitation of the Bundestag (Parliament of the Federal Republic of Germany), which is friendly to Ukraine, a meeting was held between a Ukrainian delegation headed by Oleh Bondarenko, Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management, and the Chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity, and Lorenz Gösta Beutin, Chairman of the Bundestag Committee on Ecology, Climate, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety.
In his speech, Committee Chairman Oleh Bondarenko expressed his sincere gratitude to the German people for their long-standing support of Ukraine, especially after the start of full-scale russian aggression. He stressed the importance of preserving forests, including those in temporarily occupied territories, and noted the fundamental nature of European values shared by Ukraine.
First Deputy Head of the State Agency of Forest Resources of Ukraine for Digital Development and Digitalisation Volodymyr Buchko emphasised that Ukraine is only at the beginning of its journey towards cooperation on nature-based forestry, overcoming the effects of climate change and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.
Representatives of the State Forestry Agency of Ukraine, on behalf of all foresters, thanked the German side for its advisory and material assistance, particularly in the field of national forest inventory and the introduction of advanced forestry practices.
During the meeting, a constructive dialogue took place, during which the parties discussed topical issues of environmental policy:
combating climate change and achieving climate neutrality by 2050;
development of sustainable forestry and nature-friendly forestry;
restoration of forests destroyed and polluted as a result of russian military aggression;
finding a balance between economic development and environmental commitments;
land resource management at the federal and local levels;
adapting Ukrainian legislation to EU standards.
Members of the Bundestag, in turn, shared Germany's experience in the field of biodiversity conservation, sustainable forestry development and forest restoration (over the last decade, around 60,000 hectares of new forests have been planted in Germany). Our German colleagues also expressed interest in issues related to forest ownership rights in Ukraine, the use of biomass as fuel, and ensuring the population's supply of wood during wartime.
The visit of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation to the Bundestag was another step in strengthening bilateral parliamentary cooperation between Ukraine and Germany in the areas of sustainable development, environmental policy and nature management.