Private houses have appeared on the territory of the Zubry general zoological reserve in the Lutsk district. The owners of the company that managed the land under the illegal cottages are closely linked to the forestry industry.
This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism "The Power of Truth" with reference to the decisions of the Pechersk Court of Kyiv.
According to the publication, businessman Stanislav Kurenda, who was close to the then director of the Polissya Forest Office, Oleksandr Kvatyrko, was involved in the development of the protected lands.
Initially, the State Property Fund sold the elite complex of buildings of the Zvirivske hunting farm. Subsequently, private cottages began to appear near the hunting hotel, but directly on the nature reserve territory.
Chronology and the indicative blindness of some institutions
The territories were surveyed in December 2024, after which investigators from the Lutsk District Police Department opened a criminal case.
In January 2025, inspectors from the regional branch of the State Environmental Inspection and a representative of the Polissya Forestry Office branch of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" visited the sites of unauthorized construction.
Incredibly, the environmental inspectors concluded that the construction was being carried out outside the boundaries of the protected area; however, according to the Main Investigation Department of the National Police, they disagreed. In the summer of 2025, a criminal case was opened under two articles:
- unauthorized construction on a seized plot in a protected zone;
- abuse of office by officials of the Kivertsi forestry district.
“Officials of the Kivertsi forestry district, a branch of the Polissia Forestry Office of the State Specialized Enterprise ‘Forests of Ukraine,’ transferred forest plots located in the restricted use zone for further unauthorized development. This caused significant damage to state interests protected by law,” the media cited documents from the court records.
At the end of the year, law enforcement obtained the arrest of the houses, and, by court decision, seized documents, a smartphone, and a server where video surveillance recordings were stored.
Seven cottages are owned by LLC “Hunting Estate ‘Vidrodzhennia.’” Through a questionable scheme involving changes to the reserve and hunting ground boundaries, the company obtained a substantial portion of valuable land, including:
- part of the “Zubr” reserve;
- the entire “Vorotniv” botanical reserve, including the Youth Forestry Center;
- 32 hectares of forest near Lysche and Harazdzha villages, which were previously subordinated to the hunting and fishing association “Horyn.”
Who runs this?
The owners of “Vidrodzhennia” are rather ambiguous personalities. According to “Syla Pravdy,” the founder was Lutsk entrepreneur Serhii Tymoshchuk, a friend of a close associate of the former head of the Polissia Forestry Office.
At the beginning of 2025, the owner became LLC “Koreya,” owned by Bohdan Kolisnyk. He headed the Volyn Regional Department of Forestry and Hunting and was a deputy of the Volyn Regional Council.
In the summer of 2025, “Vidrodzhennia” acquired a new co-owner, Petro Bulat. He is also closely linked to the forestry sector. He was a co-owner of the enterprise “Kostopil LisProm Invest,” which specializes in timber harvesting.
Earlier, EcoPolitic reported on an investigation involving high-ranking officials in the forestry sector. They may be linked to highly profitable woodworking enterprises.
