The EcoPolitic team has collected the most resonant cases of environmental damage over the past week from October 11 to 17.
1) In Khmelnytskyi region, a quarry director illegally extracted limestone worth UAH 240 million.
Prosecutors of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of Khmelnytskyi region together with the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police of Ukraine exposed the director of a quarry in Kamianets-Podilskyi district, who organized illegal limestone mining on an industrial scale.
Photo: pgo_gov_uа
According to the investigation, over the course of two years, the head of the company illegally mined almost 237 thousand tons of limestone. However, the permitted rate is only 50 thousand tons. He sold the resulting rock, earning about UAH 57 million from the minerals.
Photo: pgo_gov_uа
Due to the entrepreneur's illegal actions, experts have assessed the environmental damage at nearly UAH 240 million.
The defendant faces punishment under:
- Part 3 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal extraction of minerals of nationwide significance using official position).
- Part 1 of Article 209 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (legalization of property obtained by criminal means).
Photo: pgo_gov_uа
2) Employees of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" will be tried in Zhytomyr region for illegally issuing logging tickets.
Law enforcement officers have sent to court an indictment against three employees of one of the branches of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in Zhytomyr region. According to the investigation, they attempted to seize state property by abusing their official position.
According to law enforcement officers, the forestry engineers were members of the commission that allocated areas for logging. When measuring wood, they deliberately underestimated the thickness and height of trees to reduce the amount of valuable wood in the reports.
Photo: pgo_gov_uа
Based on false information, the company received logging tickets for a 2.4-hectare plot. Instead, law enforcement officers exposed the illegal actions of the foresters in time and prevented them from continuing to cut down and take possession of the timber.
The total environmental damage amounted to UAH 4.5 million.
The company's employees are accused of attempted misappropriation of property by abuse of office under Article 15(3) and Article 191(5) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
3) In Zakarpattia region, prosecutors recovered more than UAH 10 million from the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" for illegal logging.
The Prosecutor's Office of Zakarpattia region has succeeded in recovering UAH 10.3 million from the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" for damage caused by illegal felling of trees in a protected area.
According to law enforcement, employees of one of the forestry enterprises illegally cut down spruce trees in the territory of the nature reserve fund, causing significant damage to the environment, the state and the local community.
The Commercial Court of Zakarpattia region upheld the prosecutor's claim to recover UAH 10.3 million from the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine".
4) Three forestry officials in Odesa region will be tried for illegal felling of trees worth UAH 2 million.
According to the investigation, the forest masters, in collusion with the acting forester, organized illegal felling of valuable trees in the forest blocks of the Labushna tract of the Balt territorial community of Odesa region.
During September-October 2024, 120 oak and ash trees were illegally cut down in the tract.
Photo: od.gp.gov.ua
Investigators added that to cover up the illegal activities, the foresters used contracts for sanitary logging and submitted false information to the electronic timber accounting system. As a result of these unlawful actions, the environment suffered more than UAH 2 million in damages.
Photo: od.gp.gov.ua
The officials face punishment for illegal deforestation on an especially large scale, abuse of office and falsification of official documents under Article 246(4), Article 364(2) and Article 366(1) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
EcoPolitics recommends reading the material about the fact that during 2021-2025, the volume of logging in 9 national parks increased by 2-6.7 times. These are the national parks of Biloozersky, Zalissia, Syniogora, Skole Beskydy, etc.
According to Volodymyr Boreyko, director of the Kyiv Ecological and Cultural Center, about 1 million cubic meters of trees are cut down annually in Ukraine's protected areas. This is about 10% of all harvested wood in Ukraine.
