In 2023, valuable trees worth over UAH 16 million were destroyed in the Tsuman Forest National Park in the Volyn region. Law enforcement officers had evidence that the then director of the national park personally organized the felling, and that the director and owner of the woodworking enterprise "Wood-Prom Company" were accomplices. However, the court found inconsistencies in the evidence to acquit the defendants.
This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism "The Power of Truth."
The story of an "unproven" crime
Back in the summer of 2023, it was noticed in the national park that 90 valuable trees had been cut down. Among the victims of the violators were 48 oak trees, whose age experts estimate at about 165 years.
According to Bogdan Gromyk, head of the Department of Conservation and Restoration of Natural Ecosystems of the Kivertsi National Nature Park "Tsumanska Pushcha," law enforcement agencies launched criminal proceedings in August of that year.
The organizer of the felling was none other than the then director of the national park, Vitaliy Derkach, as well as the owner of Wood-Prom Company, Yuriy Shevchuk. This was the opinion of investigators from the State Bureau of Investigations.
At the same time, law enforcement was also investigating a case concerning 870 oak logs discovered on the premises of the same company in Ozyutychi, which was implicated in the illegal logging case. These criminal proceedings were combined, as law enforcement suspected that this timber also originated from the territory of the national park.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation
How were the trees cut down? Investigators had information that Vitaliy Derkach decided to get rid of unnecessary witnesses—he sent forestry workers to build an eco-trail far from the logging site. So while the foresters were away, representatives of the woodworking company Wood-Prom appeared and illegally destroyed the trees. They then probably planned to process the wood and export it to the EU using fake documents.
Vitaliy Derkach was charged in March 2024. He was accused of illegal logging in a protected area with serious consequences, as well as abuse of office. The articles provide for imprisonment for 7 and 10 years, respectively.
While the investigation was ongoing, law enforcement officers identified another accomplice, Alexander Shulgan, director of Wood-Prom Company. Together with Shevchuk, he attempted to legalize oak logs using documents obtained when purchasing other timber.
Court conclusions
Of course, all three defendants claimed throughout the trial that they were not guilty. The Kivertsi District Court also found them innocent. The court insisted on the following:
- witnesses among the employees of the Kivertsi NNP "Tsumanska Pushcha" stated that they did not personally witness the tree felling, the movement of trucks, or the presence of the accused at the crime scene. Witnesses also denied receiving threats or instructions;
- there were contradictions in testimonies regarding the dates of logging, management notifications, and police reports;
- the photos taken by a witness were deemed inadmissible as evidence due to the absence of a date and no indication that the truck was carrying timber;
- the group of individuals defined as “local residents” was not questioned as witnesses;
- there is a lack of clarity as to whether the logs at the enterprise and the stumps in the national park could ever have constituted a single whole. The court-appointed expert was unable to confirm this.
Thus, all three defendants were found not guilty “due to the failure to prove that their actions constituted the specified criminal offenses.”
The court also did not consider the civil lawsuit filed by the State Environmental Inspectorate in the Volyn region. The SEI sought compensation for damages from the former head of the national park Derkach and the head of the enterprise Shevchuk.
EcoPolitic systematically covers crimes in the forestry sector. In particular, it recently became known that under the guise of sanitary logging, the foresters of SE “Koryukivske Forestry” in the Chernihiv region destroyed more than 4,300 trees worth nearly UAH 9.5 million.
