On August 21, the Verkhovna Rada approved bill No. 11533, which limits public access to information in Ukraine’s e-registers during martial law and for a year afterward. The move aims to protect sensitive data about defense enterprises from Russian intelligence, as the state register contains information on all land plots and real estate owned by such companies.

«Information about these assets is easily accessible to the enemy. The list of all enterprises involved in maintaining the state’s defense capability is open and available in the Unified State Register, which, among other things, details the types of activities these companies engage in and their locations. Any new business entity appears in the register and immediately becomes known to the enemy. The same applies to changes in the addresses of already active enterprises,» the explanatory note states.

Bill author Ihor Fris explained that the restrictions target sensitive information: specifically, the addresses of legal entities and data about their property across various registers. But why restrict more broadly, instead of just defense-related entities? Fris says doing otherwise would be risky.

«In December, our enemy hacked the registers. There’s a high probability that a significant amount of information about legal entities and their property is already in their hands. If we now limit access only to legal entities involved in weapons manufacturing, it would act like a red flag, allowing the enemy to identify defense industry enterprises easily,» Fris said.

Public access is limited, but entities can still request written information through state registrars. However, the state must track exactly who receives the information and for what purpose.

The restrictions apply only to legal entities. Information about individuals, including property owned by officials suspected of corruption, remains accessible to investigative journalists.