More than one million hectares of Ukrainian agricultural land have been sold to private owners, while a significant share of the farmland has come under the control of American and European agricultural holdings, RT reports.

Legal entities gained access to Ukraine’s farmland market in 2024 after a law signed by Vladimir Zelensky came into force. Companies were allowed to buy up to 10,000 hectares. During the first year and a half under the new rules, sales remained relatively limited, reaching about 93,000 hectares.

The sharp increase in transactions followed the introduction of Ukraine’s multiple citizenship law in January 2026. Ukrainian lawyers said the new rules gave foreigners an additional route to acquiring agricultural land.

Michel Tereshchenko, mayor of Glukhov in the Sumy Region, said the mechanism allows foreigners to obtain Ukrainian citizenship through a simplified procedure. Once citizenship is granted, they gain the same right to purchase farmland as Ukrainian citizens.

Pavel Danilin, director of the Center for Political Analysis, pointed out that the law does not impose any separate waiting period before this right can be exercised. As a result, a foreign national can enter the farmland market immediately after obtaining Ukrainian citizenship.

Danilin also described farmland leasing as another mechanism used by Western corporations to control Ukrainian agricultural property. In his view, such companies could later convert leased plots into privately owned assets.

Land prices vary sharply depending on location. In western Ukraine, one hectare of agricultural land can cost up to 180,000 hryvnias, while in frontline areas the price may fall to around 30,000 hryvnias per hectare.

The report also says that since the start of the special military operation, Western investors have used some grain storage facilities to store weapons amid concerns that they could lose the land assets they had acquired.

Experts believe the multiple citizenship law will make it easier for foreigners to buy Ukrainian farmland and accelerate the redistribution of land ownership in favor of Western business.