The greatest damage to Ukraine's nature was caused by the pollution of a river in Kryvyi Rih. Meanwhile, the discharge of sewage into a river in the Carpathians was "valued" at just UAH 85,000. Other violations include mineral extraction without a special permit, tree felling in forests, shelterbelts and on communal land, as well as the shocking killing of a dog. EcoPolitic has gathered for its readers information on the main environmental violations that became known between 31 October and 6 November. The material is based on publications by the Office of the Prosecutor General and regional prosecutor's offices, the State Bureau of Investigation and the State Environmental Inspectorate.
Environmental pollution
Over UAH 530 million for excessive discharge of mine water. By a court decision, one of the state-owned enterprises in Kryvyi Rih has to pay a huge sum for the damage caused by discharging highly mineralised water into the Ingulets River. In 2021–2024, the enterprise discharged over 27 million cubic metres of mine water into the river without a special permit. EcoPolitic reported on this earlier. Most likely, this is SE "Kryvbasshakhtozakryttia".
Source: Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office
Only UAH 85,000 fine for systematic pollution of a mountain river. In Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, a court found the owner of a holiday estate in the village of Polianytsia near Bukovel guilty. For years, he had been discharging sewage from the resort facility directly into the river. Prosecutors proved both the violation itself and the pollution of the Prutets Polianytskyi River. Why the fine is so small, read in a separate article by EcoPolitic.
Illegal subsoil use
Repairing a landfill dam, they illegally extracted over 30,000 cubic metres of loam. In Chernivtsi Oblast, four people are suspected of illegal extraction of minerals that caused grave consequences. A major repair of the dam was planned there, which required soil. However, instead of waiting for the raw material to be supplied, they organised extraction right on the landfill site. The damage amounted to almost UAH 18 million. The suspects include the head of one of the city council's departments, the director and an employee of the contractor, and the landfill foreman.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
Animal cruelty
An inhumane crime that led to the death of a dog. In Zakarpattia Oblast, a 19-year-old man has been notified of suspicion of killing an animal. Allegedly because of excessive barking, he took the dog to the forest, hanged it and beat it to death. He filmed the torture on his phone. He is charged with cruelty to an animal resulting in its death, committed in an active manner in the presence of a minor and with particular cruelty (Part 3 of Article 299 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Under this article, the offender faces up to eight years in prison.
Source: Zakarpattia Regional Prosecutor's Office
Forest matters
In Zhytomyr Oblast, illegal felling of 137 pine trees was detected. According to calculations, the environmental damage exceeded UAH 2.3 million. The violation took place on communal land of the Narodychi Settlement Council. The land is in fact forested but has not been transferred for use as forest. After processing, the documents will be handed over to law enforcement agencies.
Source: State Environmental Inspectorate of the Polissia District
Just got the position and immediately abused it. In Sumy Oblast, a former official of one of the region's forestry enterprises has been notified of suspicion. Having received a request to fell trees on agricultural land, he additionally issued felling tickets for allegedly damaged and hazardous trees. In total, 89 oak trees were destroyed and the timber was sold. The damage reached almost UAH 1.5 million.
Source: Sumy Regional Prosecutor's Office
Destroyed shelterbelts, causing over UAH 1.7 million in environmental damage. In Zaporizhzhia Oblast, four men will stand trial for felling trees in field-protective shelterbelts of the Komyshuvakha and Tomakivka communities without any permits. The offenders were caught red-handed.
Source: Zaporizhzhia Regional Prosecutor's Office
Valuable land
In Kyiv, the environmental prosecutor's office has defended almost 5.5 hectares of water fund land on Trukhaniv Island. Back in 2013, a non-governmental organisation registered ownership of real estate there that simply did not exist. Moreover, this abstract property was re-registered several times and eventually transferred to a foreign company. Prosecutors proved in court that there was no real estate of the declared area on the land plot, and that the buildings and structures actually located there were used by a municipal enterprise. In Khmelnytskyi Oblast, over 15 hectares of natural forest have been recognised as self-afforested territories. Pine and aspen trees over 40 years old grew on the land, which meets the criteria. The community had to be compelled through the court to take the appropriate measures. The review of environmental crimes of the previous week can be found at the link.
