There were surprisingly few cases of illegal logging this week, but that does not mean that nature has been left in peace. Illegal mining, environmental pollution and efforts to finally protect protected areas — these are the key issues.
EcoPolitic has compiled information on crimes against Ukraine’s natural environment that came to light between 25 and 31 July. This report draws on official statements from the Office of the Prosecutor General and regional prosecutors’ offices, the State Bureau of Investigations and the State Environmental Inspectorate.
Illegal exploitation of mineral resources
Entrepreneurs from Ternopil region stole sand from the state for over three years. During this period, environmental damage exceeded UAH 48.2 million. At the same time, those involved in the scheme also managed to legalize minerals worth over UAH 11.3 million by selling them through controlled companies. The site of these events was the "Bolyazubivske-3" deposit, while the persons involved, already under suspicion by the Office of the Prosecutor General, are two co-founders of a private company and its director. EcoPolitics reported on this case in a separate article.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
They stole groundwater and sold it as bottled water. In Mykolaiv region, a case regarding the legalization of illegal water extraction was referred to the court. The suspects are a former deputy of the Mykolaiv City Council and his partner. They illegally extracted groundwater, transported it to a production facility, bottled and sold it. In this way, they laundered over UAH 4.9 million.
The fight for valuable land
How did 226 hectares of state forest become the site of the "Vedmezha Dibrova" complex, once referred to as "Medvedchuk’s dacha"? Prosecutors are still identifying all those involved. This week, it was the turn of the former director of the Svaliava Forestry branch of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine", who is currently a deputy of the Svaliava City Council. He was notified of suspicion of official negligence. This is now the seventh suspect in the large-scale case.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
It is common for land users to delay for years with all the bureaucratic formalities regarding protected nature sites. This threatens violations of conservation regimes, misuse, or even alienation of these territories. This week, two such cases came to light, and both relate to the inactivity of branches of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine".
- In Ivano-Frankivsk region, prosecutors demand the establishment of boundaries for the “Grofa” landscape reserve of national significance. This 2,500 ha site was created 30 years ago to preserve unique cedar-spruce primeval forests that host a number of rare animals-from lynxes and forest cats to the Carpathian newt. These areas are undoubtedly valuable, yet a land management project has not appeared since 1996. Therefore, law enforcement is trying to achieve this through court against the user-the Carpathian Forestry Office.
- The “Ivankovetsky” landscape reserve in Khmelnytskyi region was established even earlier-in 1974. However, its boundaries have still not been delineated on site or formalized in accordance with legal requirements. Prosecutors have appealed to “Forests of Ukraine” in court to correct this. The reserve covers more than 1,000 ha and is part of the “Podilski Tovtry” National Nature Park.
Two landscape parks in Rivne region, more than 20 years after their establishment, still lack their own layout and land management projects, as well as dedicated administrations. These are the Dermansko-Mostivsky Park, with an area of 19,000 ha, and the Nadsluchansky Park, with an area of 17,200 ha. To address this, prosecutors have filed lawsuits.
In the regions, prosecutors are returning valuable sites to the state, piece by piece, through court action. Here are some separate cases:
- There have been two successful cases in Dnipropetrovsk region. The state recovered 140 ha of land from the “Dolina Richky Byk” landscape reserve and 16 ha from the “Stepovyi Canyon” reserve. The parcels are valued at UAH 15 million and UAH 1.8 million respectively. These protected lands had been illegally leased to farming enterprises, and the courts terminated the lease agreements.
- The Ovadnivska Village Council in Volyn appropriated as much as 670 ha of forest fund with a value of UAH 6.4 million. Prosecutors, confident of the unlawfulness of these actions, filed a lawsuit and won. As a result, the land was transferred from communal to state ownership in accordance with the law.
- During seven months, the Haisyn District Prosecutor’s Office filed six lawsuits to protect over 85 ha of protected area land. For one parcel-23 ha within the “Karmeliukove Pole” National Nature Park-a positive court decision has already been issued. Previously, this land was inventoried as communal with agricultural designation.
- A similar fate befell forest fund lands in Kherson region. The prosecutor’s office filed a lawsuit to remove 12.8 ha of forests from communal ownership.
The state must also own water fund lands with state-owned hydraulic structures. However, in many communities, this remains problematic and must be resolved through litigation. For example, in Cherkasy region, prosecutors filed lawsuits against four local councils to revoke communal ownership rights to nearly 4,000 ha of land with a total value of UAH 90 million. The court has already satisfied two of the eight lawsuits.
Source: Cherkasy Regional Prosecutor's Office
Environmental Pollution
Household waste was dumped in an area not designated for this purpose, causing environmental damage amounting to nearly 3.4 million UAH. In Zhytomyr region, two managers of a private enterprise have been served suspicion notices. One of them had previously been held accountable for a similar offense. According to the investigation, from December 2025 to March 2026, the suspects had been dumping garbage on municipal land in the city of Zhytomyr.
Source: Zhytomyr Regional Prosecutor's Office
Forest Cases
Illegal logging resulted in damages of 1.2 million UAH. In Zakarpattia region, “Forests of Ukraine” State Enterprise, by court decision, must compensate for damages due to improper performance of duties by officials of the Hrunykivske forestry unit.
Poaching and Corruption
Carte blanche for fishing. For a separate fee, the head of one sector of the State Environmental Inspectorate in Kharkiv region offered not to interfere with fishing in a reservoir in Lozivskyi district. The official received the first tranche through an intermediary, and the second in person. It was during this transaction that he was detained by law enforcement. The official has been served with a suspicion notice.
Source: Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office
You can learn more about the criminal impact suffered by Ukraine’s environment last week in the article.
