In 2026, the Polissya Forest Office of the State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’ doubled the amount it intends to spend on forest restoration in the Volyn and Rivne regions. These funds will be channelled through third-party contractors, including companies owned by MPs, forestry officials and their relatives. There were also newly established firms, which, in a matter of months, have already made tens of millions of hryvnias at the state’s expense.
This is evidenced by an analysis of procurement carried out by the ‘Power of Truth’ Centre for Investigative Journalism.
Record sums — classic scams
In the first six months of 2026, the Polissya Forestry Office conducted over 30 tenders for forest restoration services via the Prozorro system. As a result, it awarded contracts worth 84.4 million hryvnias — 43 million for the Rivne region and 41.3 million hryvnias for Volyn. Last year, during the same period, 40 million hryvnias were allocated to similar contracts. Among the successful bidders are a number of companies linked to individuals with close ties to the forestry sector and the authorities.
The procurement procedure was competitive — with shortened deadlines and the option to select a supplier even if there was only one bidder. There were no specific requirements, such as experience or a particular logistical infrastructure. All that was needed was a planting tube and some hedge trimmers.
Auditors have already pointed out that this is a corruption scheme. For instance, at the state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’, government contracts are awarded to companies lacking sufficient resources, which use the state-owned enterprise’s equipment for a ridiculously low fee. Among the common violations are contracts awarded to newly established and affiliated firms.
Who will profit from the forests of Volyn?
Eight contractors will be responsible for looking after the forests in the Volyn region, funded by public money. Among them are quite a few individuals whose selection was by no means coincidental.
The following organisations were awarded contracts by the Kivertsi Forest District:
Roman Baran is to oversee reforestation and Christmas tree plantations for 4.8 million hryvnias. This is not the first contract he has secured from the forestry authorities. This is presumably because the businessman is the husband of Oksana Baran, a former employee of the Kolkiv Forestry Enterprise. It is telling that her mother and mother-in-law also earn their living from state-owned forests.
Kateryna Abramovych is to plant 1.6 million saplings for over 3 million hryvnias. This is the first time the Polissya Forestry Office has worked with her, but since logging operations began in 2023, she has already won tenders from forestry authorities worth tens of millions of hryvnias. This includes over 116 million hryvnias from the Podillia Forestry Office.
The work in the Liubeshiv Forest District will be carried out by Anatolii Busko. The local entrepreneur won the tenders for forest maintenance and the planting of saplings — worth 1.5 million hryvnias and nearly 900,000 hryvnias respectively. He has been working in the forestry sector for over 25 years and has been a councillor on the Kamin-Kashirsk City Council since 2020.
The Kamyn-Kashyrsk Forest District will procure services from the aforementioned Roman Baran, as well as from the company ‘DOF Arbo’. The latter has been involved in sawmill operations since 2022 and is owned by the family of another Anatoliy Busko — the cousin of the aforementioned entrepreneur and MP. This Anatoliy is also a councillor, but in the Volyn Regional Council.
The company ‘Olga’ has been awarded two contracts worth over 6.8 million UAH by the Kovel Forest District. The company has been registered since 2001. The director and owner is Roman Liulchak from the village of Perehinske, where a number of companies that won tenders last year were registered.
The Manevychi Forest District has commissioned services from the company “Forest Service West” for a total of 7.9 million UAH. The company’s main activity is sawmilling and planing, and it is owned by Alina Klymyuk from Lutsk. The previous owner was Ihor Nevar, a former tax official, whose other companies also frequently receive government contracts from forestry authorities. In total, “Forest Service West”, which was only registered in 2023, has concluded contracts worth over 100 million hryvnias with the Polissya Forestry Office over the last two years.
The company “ZhS-Zakhid-Standard” will be carrying out forest restoration work in the Lyuboml Forest District. The tenders are worth around 5 million hryvnias. The company is owned by Alla Dutik, a resident of Shatsk and former accountant to Igor Zhmurko, the director of Shatsk Forestry College. Incidentally, he was originally one of the company’s founders.
Джерело: "Сила правди"
Winners of public tenders in the Rivne region
Nine local contractors will be carrying out the reforestation work here. Last year, they were mainly entrepreneurs from the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Journalists attribute these changes to a change in the management of the Polissya Forestry Office.
The company “Wald Zakhid” will be operating in the Sarny Forest District. The value of the contracts amounts to over 7 million hryvnias. The owner of the company, which was registered three years ago, is a local resident, Mykola Shevchuk. Over the past two years, the company has secured forestry contracts worth over 46 million hryvnias.
The company “Kostopil Lisprom Invest” has been awarded two contracts by the Kostopil Forest District. The contracts are worth 5.5 million hryvnias. The company has been in operation for three years, and its founders are from Rivne. Over the past two years, the company has secured contracts worth a record 395 million hryvnias from the Polissya Forest Office.
Valentyna Horanska will be working on the reforestation of the Klesiv Forest District. She has been an entrepreneur in this sector since 2010. The total value of contracts awarded by the Polissya office over the last two years amounts to 12.5 million hryvnias.
Contracts in the Rafaliv Forest District will be carried out by the firm ‘Flash-2020’. Its owner, Boris Tsvyak, was a co-owner of the firm ‘Kaysgolts’. It is linked to Vitaliy Sukhovych, the former chief forester of the Rivne region.
There are quite a few newly established companies among the contractors. For example, ‘Forest TV’, a company registered in July 2025, has already secured contracts worth 84 million hryvnias from the Polissya Forestry Office. Its director is Andriy Parkhomyuk.
The even younger ‘Harvest TT’ was only registered last December. In the space of six months, it has won tenders worth 70 million hryvnias. Its director and owner is Oleksandr Perehodko.
And the record-holder turned out to be the company ‘Derevo Sila’. It was only registered in April 2026. Yet this did not prevent the Polissya office from awarding it 78 million hryvnias of public funds in just three months. The owner and director of this highly successful company is Dmytro Kasyanchuk.
It is noteworthy that all these ‘new’ companies share the same registered address and a common telephone number — that of Andrii Parkhomiuk from ‘Forest TV’. Journalists contacted him and asked him directly why these newly established companies were able to obtain state funding so easily. However, he denies having any links with forestry officials.
"There’s a list of documents, permits, a list of people and a list of equipment. If you meet these requirements, you can enter the tender and win. Whether the company is newly established or has been in business for 10 years makes no difference. The main thing is that the tender obligations are met and the work is then carried out. For the State Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’, what difference does it make whether this firm is new or not?” commented Andrii Parkhomiuk.
Джерело: "Сила правди"
EcoPolitic previously reported on suspicious schemes worth billions of hryvnias operating within ‘Forests of Ukraine’. This primarily concerns procurement from newly established and interconnected companies, which are often impossible to locate physically.
