EcoPolitics has collected for its readers the 10 most significant cases of environmental damage reported by the press services of prosecutors and police, as well as the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine and its territorial bodies during the week of April 5-11.
1. Police in Ternopil region exposed an organized criminal group of 7 people operating on the territory of the Budaniv forestry of the Kremenets Forestry branch of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”. For a long time, the suspects had been illegally cutting down oaks.
Photo: tp.npu.gov.ua.
The organizer of the illegal activity was a 54-year-old private entrepreneur from Ternopil. He involved 6 residents of the region, including representatives of the forestry.
Each member of the group performed clearly defined tasks: one chose the best varieties of wood, the other “turned a blind eye” and allowed hired workers to cut down, saw into logs, export and deliver wood to the places of sale. The organizer also cooperated with entrepreneurs who accepted illegally obtained raw materials and used them in their own production.
Photo: tp.npu.gov.ua.
According to experts, the amount of damage caused to the state is over UAH 3.3 million.
Investigators served all members of the criminal group suspicion notices under Part 4 of Art. 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal felling, transportation, storage and sale of timber). The sanction of the article provides for imprisonment for up to 7 years. The organizer and 4 accomplices are also charged with committing crimes as part of an organized criminal group.
2. In Ivano-Frankivsk region, investigators served a notice of suspicion of negligence to a forestry manager. He failed to take any measures to prevent illegal logging in the territory entrusted to him. As a result, between November 2022 and February 2023, unknown persons cut down more than fifty trees of various species in several areas of the nature reserve fund in Kosiv region without proper permits.
The damage caused by the “black loggers” amounted to UAH 3.4 million. The official now faces imprisonment for up to 5 years with disqualification to hold certain positions or engage in certain activities for up to 3 years.
3. Prosecutors of the Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office sent to court an indictment against an organized criminal group of 5 local residents. On the territory of the Yasinya community in Rakhiv district, they organized illegal logging in one of the tracts. The wood was delivered to sawmills and prepared for sale in Ukraine. They also sold it locally for cash.
Photo: zak.gp.gov.ua.
EcoPolitic wrote about the disclosure of this illegal scheme in early November last year. Back then, to prevent the police from reaching the felling site, the criminals laid spikes and rebar “hedgehogs” on the way.
Photo: zak.gp.gov.ua.
They also partially damaged the bridge on the road to the storage sites for illegally felled trees and sawmills. As a result, 6 vehicles – police cars and trucks – were damaged.
At the time, the police reported damage of more than UAH 8 million. According to the updated estimate, it is now UAH 35.5 million.
Photo: zak.gp.gov.ua.
4. The assistant captain of a foreign vessel was served in absentia by Odesa prosecutors with a notice of suspicion of polluting the Black Sea with palm oil. The investigation established that in early May last year, an uncontrolled discharge of palm oil, a substance hazardous to the marine environment, occurred in the waters of the Pivdennyi seaport during the unloading of a ship flying the flag of Barbados.
Photo: od.gp.gov.ua.
Another leakage of this substance overboard occurred during the pumping of residual liquid from the bow cargo tanks to the sedimentation tanks. A total of 7.2 tons of oil was released into the sea. This pollution caused more than $2 million in damage.
Photo: od.gp.gov.ua.
Prosecutors filed a lawsuit in the interests of the state against the shipowner to recover the environmental damage.
Photo: od.gp.gov.ua.
5. The heads of two companies specializing in meat processing and a farmer from Dnipropetrovs'k region will be tried for contaminating land with the carcasses of dead animals.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
They illegally exported hazardous waste of animal origin and dumped it on land plots in the village of Synelnykivskyi district, Dnipro region. At the same time, the defendants drew up fictitious documents on compliance with the requirements and standards of animal waste disposal.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
During the searches, law enforcement officers found waste on an area of more than 2 thousand square meters. The contaminated soils contained excessive levels of ammonia nitrogen, nitrates, phosphorus, zinc, and copper, which poses a danger to the environment, as well as human life and health.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
6. A fishery industrialist from Berdiansk was sentenced to 5 years in prison. After the full-scale invasion, he re-registered his enterprises under the laws of the Russian Federation and continued his business activities. In August 2023, the businessman organized an illegal catch of 2 tons of shrimp in the waters of the Azov National Park. This caused material damage to Ukraine's fish stocks worth UAH 42 million.
Photo: zap.gp.gov.ua.
In addition to imposing a prison term with confiscation of property, the court deprived the defendant of the right to hold positions in government agencies, institutions, enterprises and organizations in the field of fisheries and fisheries for a period of 15 years.
7. Prosecutors of the Znamianskyi District Prosecutor's Office served a notice of suspicion to the director of a company in Kropyvnytskyi district of illegal mining of gneiss without a special permit for subsoil use on the territory of the Subotsivske deposit.
By his actions, the official caused losses to the state in the amount of UAH 24.5 million.
8. In Sumy region, a senior forester of a state-owned enterprise was suspected. He is charged with abuse of office, forgery and money laundering.
According to the investigation, he illegally instructed his subordinates and employees to start felling pine trees without a logging ticket in the Seimsky Regional Landscape Park.
Between March and April 2024, they destroyed 63 pine trees and 1 oak tree. The forester sold some of the illegally cut timber for cash to local residents, while forging consignment notes for the transportation of the timber.
According to the expert opinion, the official caused losses to the state totaling UAH 5.9 million.
9. In Zhytomyr region, environmental inspectors of the Polissia district calculated damages and filed a claim against KES LLC for more than UAH 1.6 million for discharging wastewater into the Hnylopyat River at rates exceeding the maximum permissible discharge standards established by the special water use permit.
10. Environmental inspectors of the Southern District calculated damages in the amount of almost UAH 9.6 million for unidentified persons' pollution of the coastal protection zone of the Kapustianka River in Matviyivka village, Zaporizhzhia district, with waste from the infrastructure of settlements. The inspectors sent the materials to the Security Service of Ukraine in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Read about the most high-profile environmental violations from March 29 to April 4 in our previous digest.
