Odesa is a resort city visited by thousands of tourists for health and beach recreation. The access to the Black Sea coast has gained particular importance in the context of the full-scale invasion, as Odesa officially has the largest number of beach zones open.

At the same time, the Odesa City Council adopted the Rules for the Equipment and Operation of the Beaches of Odesa back in 2007, which defined the land plots along the Black Sea coast as "structures." This approach allowed beaches to be leased outside of competitive procedures, which reduced revenue to the local budget and created risks of illegal alienation of these areas into private ownership for further development.

Currently, the existing legislation unconditionally classifies beaches as land plots that are prohibited from being developed. The right to use them can only be obtained on a competitive basis, which will allow for effective replenishment of the city budget. 

The specialized environmental prosecutor's office of the Office of the Prosecutor General has filed a lawsuit against the Odesa City Council to compel it to bring the existing rules into compliance with the legislation. In this regard, at the next session meeting on November 19, 2025, the Odesa City Council decided to cancel the aforementioned Rules. 

Currently, environmental prosecutors are responding comprehensively to cases of unlawful granting of sandy beaches on the Odesa coast as structures rather than land. Such granting was carried out without a competition, without accepting the most economically advantageous proposal, in violation of the Water and Land Codes and the Law of Ukraine "On Land Lease." 

At present, the courts are already considering about 30 lawsuits challenging previously concluded lease agreements for beach plots.