In Volyn, the head of one of the village councils leased out 43 plots of land covered in woodland, which led to the illegal felling of trees. Prosecutors suspect the official of aiding and abetting the offence. She, however, claims that the land was intended for agricultural use and that the community simply needed the money.
Further details of this case were reported by the ‘Power of Truth’ Centre for Investigative Journalism. The editorial team discovered that the individual in question is Oksana Pitsyk, head of the Smidyn Village Council.
The law enforcement version
The chair of the village council leased 43 plots near the village of Lisnyky to a businessman, having drawn up the relevant contracts. According to law enforcement, she knew that the land was covered in forest and that the trees were being felled illegally. However, to cover up this activity and give it the appearance of legality, the official issued a certificate.
“Between November 2025 and March 2026, illegal logging of more than 4,200 trees was carried out on some of these plots, with a value of almost three million hryvnias,” the Volyn Regional Prosecutor’s Office writes.
The village council head was served a notice of suspicion by prosecutors under several articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, including abuse of office and complicity in illegal logging with severe consequences.
Source: Volyn Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Explanation from the community head
Journalists contacted the official, who insists that unclaimed land shares were leased, with the aim of generating revenue for the community budget. These concern plots where people with certificates or their heirs had not formalized ownership documents. According to Oksana Pitsyk, these lands were transferred to the community by the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (StateGeoCadastre) as agricultural land.
The official does not deny that natural afforestation took place on these areas, but claims she herself never visited the land leased to the tenant.
“We need to earn money for the budget somehow. We can do this by leasing land. This is our resource that was transferred to us. Why should we transfer it to forestry enterprises for free? Why not organize the whole process through auctions? We have discussed this issue many times with the associations,” says Oksana Pitsyk.
According to her, communities in Polissia have no other way to earn money but through land. Agricultural producers pay land taxes from 12%, while forestry enterprises pay 0.1%.
This example vividly illustrates one of the key problems in preserving naturally reforested areas. They usually form on agricultural lands that have long ceased to be used. According to experts, we are talking about hundreds of thousands of hectares of new forests. However, transferring them to the management of SS “Forests of Ukraine” is proceeding at a rather slow pace. You can read more about this in the EcoPolitic article.
