Violations of environmental legislation are quite common in Ukraine — ranging from the theft of mineral resources in the public domain to the abuse of official position to facilitate deforestation. Crimes relating to mineral resources remain the most costly to the environment. However, forestry offences often ‘catch up’ with them — due to their sheer number.
As is now customary, EcoPolitic has compiled information for its readers on environmental crimes reported this week by official sources. Data for the period from 18 to 24 July was obtained from publications by the Office of the Prosecutor General and regional prosecutor’s offices, the State Bureau of Investigations and the State Environmental Inspectorate.
Illegal exploitation of mineral resources
Extraction of sandstone instead of conducting a geological survey of the deposit. In the Vinnytsia region, an inspection was carried out at a company which is suspected of having illegally extracted minerals, causing colossal losses — over 337 million hryvnias. It is understood that, having purchased a licence for geological exploration of the site at auction, the company decided not to delay. Without assessing reserves or obtaining the necessary permits, the company simply began extracting minerals on an industrial scale. This involved almost 38,000 tonnes of sandstone. The company’s director has been served with a notice of suspicion.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
Environmental pollution
This type of crime seldom makes it this high in the EcoPolitics digest. However, this time there is a reason – enormous environmental damage amounting to almost UAH 86 million. This concerns an unauthorized landfill covering 2,700 m2 that formed in Kharkiv on land owned by “Ukrzaliznytsia” (Ukrainian Railways). Prosecutors served notices of suspicion to the former head and deputy head of one of the subdivisions at the “Kharkiv-Passenger” railway station. They are accused of improper organization of household waste collection and disposal. Studies confirmed elevated concentrations of pollutants in the soil, particularly phosphorus.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
Forest-related cases
Once again, foresters failed to protect the trees and must compensate for the damage. This time, a court decided to recover almost UAH 4.8 million from the Polissya Forestry Office of SE “Forests of Ukraine”. Due to the negligence of its employees, who were supposed to protect the entrusted territory, more than 10 trees were illegally destroyed in the Ostrivske forest district.
A “black logger” family in Poltava region illegally cut down trees worth nearly UAH 3 million. A father and son organized the clearing of shelterbelts, even hiring people for the task. They told these people that all permits for logging had been obtained. From May to July this year alone, thanks to this “family contract" in the Shyshatska community, 150 oaks were destroyed. The men have been notified of suspicion.
Source: Poltava Regional Prosecutor's Office
The case regarding the criminal actions of the former forester of Sokyrychi Forestry of SE "Forests of Ukraine" has been transferred to court. According to the investigation, the ex-official organized the felling of more than 100 trees in this area. He was fully aware that there were no legal grounds for this, including the absence of a logging ticket. The former forester faces up to ten years' imprisonment.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation
A large-scale illegal logging operation was discovered in Chernihiv region. While verifying the information, environmental inspectors documented the destruction of 547 plants of various species and diameters. Preliminary damages have been estimated at nearly 16.5 million UAH. Logging continued throughout 2026. As expected, there are no permits for this deforestation. The state environmental inspectors have submitted all collected materials to law enforcement agencies.
The fight for valuable lands
In Zakarpattia region, more than 4,600 ha of the "Syniak" landscape park territory are finally expected to receive proper protection. The park was established back in 2011, but the forestry enterprise was able to enter data about the natural landmark into the State GeoCadastre only in June 2026. Unfortunately, this only happened after prosecutorial intervention. The park is of high value because it is home to relict flora, including species from the glacial period, as well as many animals listed in the Red Book.
The Supreme Court has finally put an end to the dispute over the fate of Protasiv Yar in Kyiv. The court closed the proceedings in which the developer sought to challenge the establishment of a landscape park on this territory. More details about this story are available in the EcoPolitic article.
Prosecutors are gradually returning lands with protected status to the state, as well as plots belonging to the forest or water fund. Here are several cases from the past week:
- Almost 3 ha of territory of the "Dniester Canyon" National Park was excluded from the communal ownership of Zalishchyky City Council. These lands ended up in communal ownership after land inventory and unlawful registration by representatives of the regional branch of the State GeoCadastre, against whom prosecutors also filed claims. The valuable territories were transferred to the city's ownership as agricultural lands.
- Back in 2019, over 10 ha of forest fund land in Beryslav district, Kherson region, were suddenly reclassified as agricultural. There were no grounds for this, so the court sided with the prosecutors and cancelled the registration.
- In Zhytomyr region, more than 1 ha of protected riparian strip was successfully defended; in violation of the law, these areas had been reclassified as industrial lands. This territory with a special protection regime had already been leased for the operation of industrial facilities.
- The fate of 15 ha of forest in Kharkiv region is still undecided. There, the prosecutor’s office has just initiated a court hearing regarding lands that were illegally transferred to the ownership of Lozova City Council and then handed over to the local Department of Housing and Communal Services. It turned out that 5 ha of this area had already been under the permanent use of SE “Forests of Ukraine” since 2010.
Reports from the prosecutor’s office about illegal land registration quite often mention units of the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (StateGeoCadastre). It is usually their negligence that results in lands with valuable ecosystems ending up in the wrong hands. One such official will be prosecuted in Zakarpattia: this concerns a former cadastral registrar who, without verifying the legality of the submitted documents, registered more than 33 ha of land as agricultural areas. Part of these lands belonged to the forest fund. Incidentally, the disputed plots have already been returned to the state.
Source: Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office
Violation of Protected Area Regime
Currently, Ukraine is making active efforts to combat off-road vehicle tourism (jeeping), but the organizers of this illegal tourism are brazenly “striking back.” Thus, in Yaremche, a crowd of people, including the jeep tour organizers, obstructed the work of an environmental control checkpoint. The community was responding to a joint raid by representatives of the State Environmental Inspectorate, police, and the Carpathian National Nature Park. EcoPolitica covered this situation in a separate news story.
Source: State Environmental Inspectorate of the Carpathian District
You can review the overview of last week’s environmental violations by following this link.
