Thousands of trees destroyed, thousands of tonnes of illegally extracted minerals, and various forms of environmental pollution – this is a brief summary of this week’s round-up of environmental offences. Illegal logging is not only the most common but also one of the most costly types of crime.
EcoPolitics has compiled an overview of anti-environmental actions that came to light between 29 August and 4 September. The information for this report is taken from official statements issued by the Office of the Prosecutor General, regional public prosecutors’ offices, the State Bureau of Investigations and the State Environmental Inspectorate.
Illegal exploitation of mineral resources
With machinery and hired workers, but without a permit. In the Vinnytsia region, an investigation uncovered a private enterprise that had illegally extracted 7,600 m³ of loam for brick production. Due to irreversible damage to ecosystems and the harm caused, the total losses exceeded 5.5 million UAH. The company’s director has been notified that he is under suspicion.
Source: Vinnytsia Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Natural resources in the frontline Donetsk region were plundered under the guise of geological research. A resident of Kyiv organised illegal coal mining in the village of Kuritsyno. A total of 364 tonnes of minerals were extracted from the mine, causing the state losses amounting to over 10.7 million UAH. Enlisting three accomplices, the head of a local organisation drew up a fictitious contract and organised the extraction via a ventilation shaft in the mine that had been brought back into use. It was not designed for such work at all. The stolen minerals were transported to the Dnipropetrovsk region and then sold.
Forestry
Over 1,300 trees have been felled in ‘unclaimed’ forests. In the Berezivska community in Zhytomyr Oblast, environmental inspectors spotted two individuals in a car during a raid. They surveyed the surrounding areas and discovered evidence of large-scale deforestation. In total, 1,308 trees were felled across an area of more than 8.5 hectares. Calculations by the State Environmental Inspection indicate that the damage to the environment exceeded 11.2 million UAH. It is noteworthy that the forest was destroyed on land designated for forestry purposes which does not have a permanent forest user. The environmental inspectors handed all the evidence over to the police.
Источник: Государственная экологическая инспекция Полесского округа
Another large-scale case of illegal logging has been uncovered in the Volyn region. Environmental inspectors had previously reported that they had identified the offence itself, as well as a vehicle inexplicably loaded with timber. Following an inspection of the site and an assessment, it emerged that 2,309 trees of various diameters and species had been felled in the Kamen-Kashirsky district. The total damage amounts to over 7.4 million hryvnias. A criminal investigation has already been launched.
This criminal “collusion” resulted in losses totalling over 1.3 million UAH. In the Zhytomyr region, those involved in a scheme under which 60 pine trees were felled in the Bykovskyi Forest District of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” are to stand trial. Those implicated include a local businessman who processed and sold the timber, as well as a forester and a forestry foreman – one marked the trees to be felled, whilst the other oversaw their actual felling. The men do not admit their guilt. They face up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Source: State Bureau of Investigations
An illegal logging operation in Zakarpattia caused environmental damage amounting to 5.8 million hryvnias. The illegal logging operation was organised by four residents of the Tyachiv district. A total of 174 birch and beech trees were felled, including some within the Carpathian Biosphere Reserve.
In the Poltava region, a group of eight people has been uncovered who managed to fell trees worth over 2 million hryvnias. They have been served with notices of suspicion. Between February and May 2026, the accomplices were operating in the woodland areas of the Kremenchuk district. They sold the illegally harvested timber to members of the public.
Источник: Полтавская областная прокуратура
A court has ordered the recovery of nearly 1.2 million hryvnias from the Baturyn territorial community in Chernihiv Oblast. The reason is the unlawful felling of 65 trees, which was overlooked by the lawful forest user – the local authority. The ruling has come into legal force.
The Return of Valuable Land
Prosecutors succeeded in getting the Peremyshl City Council to classify almost 81 hectares of agricultural land as naturally regenerated woodland. This is in line with the government’s initiative to conserve and regenerate forests. A plot of land covering more than 0.5 hectares may be granted this status if it is naturally covered by woodland.
Without the necessary documentation or payment. In the Kryvyi Rih district, the public prosecutor’s office returned almost 19 hectares of water resources to the state, 11 hectares of which comprised a pond. For years, the tenant had been operating without a special permit or a water body registration certificate. Furthermore, he systematically failed to pay the rent on time and did not pay for the use of the water body at all.
Source: Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor’s Office
Environmental pollution and contamination
Not only illegal logging, but also pollution. In the Zhytomyr region, a court ordered the recovery of 1.6 million hryvnias from the state-owned enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine’. Environmental inspectors had previously discovered that two plots totalling 1.7 hectares, managed by the state-owned enterprise, were littered with industrial and household waste. The court ruling has already been enforced.
Источник: Житомирская областная прокуратура
In the Ternopil region, a municipal utility systematically discharged sewage into the Zbruch River between 2023 and 2025. A ‘cocktail’ of harmful substances from the sewage system contaminated surface waters and posed a threat to public health. Recently, the court sided with the prosecutors and ordered the municipal utility to pay compensation for the damage caused – almost 1.3 million hryvnias.
Preliminary round-ups of crimes against nature from EcoPolitics – follow this link.
