Outraged by illegal logging, residents of the Khoroshiv community in Zhytomyr region have protested outside the village council for the second time in a month. According to the locals, they themselves detect “black loggers” and stop trucks loaded with timber, yet law enforcement officers have still not prosecuted anyone.
This was reported by the media outlet “Suspilne”.
Large-scale geography of logging
Residents from a number of villages affected by illegal logging joined the protest. People report that trucks carrying timber even drive without license plates, but law enforcement still does not stop the vehicles for inspection.
“They started cutting in Haiky, then began in Pysarivka, and after that it continued in Terentsi. Many more villages are affected. People are no longer silent,” said Lyudmyla Proskuryakova, the protest organiser and a resident of Katerynivka.
Residents themselves disperse the criminals
The nature of the “black loggers’” activity is clearly exemplified by the logging in the village of Haiky. According to local resident Mariya Chaikivska, on May 21, together with fellow villagers, she heard chainsaw sounds in broad daylight. Venturing into the forest, the residents discovered cleared woods and two teams of men with equipment.
The loggers claimed they had all the necessary permits. However, when the villagers alerted the elder, the police, and the land renters, this first provoked aggression, and then – flight.
“They started arguing and shouting. They threatened us and swore. The men acted irrationally, then began to escape. They left in such a hurry that they even forgot to close their trunks. We drove them off, and then they went to Pysarivka to cut trees,” Mariya Chaikivska recounted.
Reports filed, but suspects escaped
The protesters are convinced that local authorities and law enforcement are covering up the logging. In particular, this opinion was voiced by Anatolii from the village of Ryzhany, who has been filing complaints with the police, prosecutor’s office, and StateGeoCadastre for over two years.
Sergii Sivachenko, a resident of Khoroshiv village, even names a specific individual involved in the tree felling. In his view, the head of Hruzlyvets AGRO LLC, Oleh Babii, is primarily responsible for deforestation of agricultural lands. This also concerns violations of the boundaries of leased plots and the lack of coordination with the owners of land shares.
Only in May 2026 did the police receive 26 reports from residents of the Khoroshiv community. However, due to identified discrepancies, law enforcement initiated proceedings in just four cases. Regarding unlicensed trucks, authorities only acknowledged a single instance, but even in that case, the police proved powerless.
“While police officers were speaking with the complainants and clarifying whether the forest clearing was legal or illegal – as this happened in a forested area – the vehicle left their line of sight and was unattended, so the police could not hold anyone accountable for driving without license plates,” explained Oleksandr Vysotskyi, deputy head of police unit No. 3 in Khoroshiv.
Community-wide ban on logging
The Khoroshiv settlement council has decided to prohibit deforestation within the community's territory. The relevant decision was adopted on May 1 and applies to municipal lands, as well as plots allocated for commercial agricultural production and personal farming.
"The police responded – they arrived at the scene. The equipment was confiscated, and the timber was also seized. The public wants us to respond to these challenges and to terminate all lease agreements in the future. This issue will be studied," stated Dmytro Sydorchuk, a lawyer for the Khoroshiv settlement council.
The police promised to forward the people's concerns to the leadership. One of the requests specifically concerns a meeting with regional authorities regarding the termination of contracts with unscrupulous tenants.
Large-scale deforestation of agricultural lands in Ukraine could be legalized if the government adopts a resolution for another “experiment.” As reported by EcoPolitic, logging may be legalized supposedly to ensure the use of land for its intended purpose.
