EcoPolitic has collected the 7 most significant cases of environmental damage that were made public during the week of February 15-21. The information was published by the press services of prosecutors' offices, the National Police, and the State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine.
1. In Khmelnytsky region, a deputy director of a branch of a state-owned enterprise was exposed for systematically demanding and receiving money from entrepreneurs for concluding fictitious contracts and issuing certificates of waste disposal. The cost of the “service” ranged from UAH 7 to 30 thousand.
In reality, the entrepreneurs buried the waste near their production facilities. The state-owned enterprise itself did not dispose of the waste either: they simply buried it on an adjacent site. By doing so, the offenders created a high environmental and epizootic hazard.
Photo: hm.npu.gov.ua.
According to preliminary estimates, the company falsely disposed of 40 to 50 tons of waste every month in the manner described above.
The deputy director of the Khmelnytskyi branch of the state-owned waste disposal enterprise was detained while receiving another bribe for resolving the issue of fictitious disposal and issuing forged documents.
2. In Dnipropetrovs'k region, law enforcement officers exposed a criminal organization headed by a criminal authority. The offenders set up a network of illegal logging in the region.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
They cut down trees of different species, transported the resulting wood for storage in rented premises, and later made firewood and sold it. Their illegal actions caused environmental damage worth several million hryvnias.
During more than 30 authorized searches, law enforcement officers seized timber, chainsaws, axes, cell phones, cars, cash, documents and weapons.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
Photo: dnipr.gp.gov.ua.
Currently, the organizer and two members of the criminal group are in custody, and the issue of preventive measures is being decided for the other defendants.
3. In Zakarpattia, the director of a sanatorium and his deputy were suspected of illegal mineral water extraction. Law enforcement officers found that the suspects systematically illegally extracted mineral waters on the territory of a health resort in Mukachevo district. In the first half of 2024 alone, they caused losses of more than UAH 644 million, extracting more than 26 thousand cubic meters of carbon dioxide mineral waters.
Photo: zak.gp.gov.ua.
The director of the sanatorium was taken into custody in the courtroom and placed in a pre-trial detention center. He was set a bail of UAH 1 million and temporarily suspended from his position. The deputy director was also taken into custody with the right to be released on bail.
Photo: zak.gp.gov.ua.
4. In Prykarpattia, the chief engineer of the Kalush Energy Company utility company will be tried for a similar crime. In January-October 2022, without a special permit for the use of subsoil, he organized illegal groundwater abstraction. As a result, the environment was damaged by more than UAH 4.9 million.
5. The environmental inspectors of the Capital District calculated damages in the amount of over UAH 1.5 million for illegal unauthorized felling and misappropriation of 81 trees on the territory of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve. They filed a report of this crime with the police.
6. Ukrzaliznytsia has to pay almost UAH 1 million for the illegal felling of 95 trees of different species in the forest belt on the stretch of the station “Vydyniv – Sniatyn” by unidentified persons. This decision was made by the court in a case brought by the Kolomyia District Prosecutor's Office.
7. A resident of the Bilozerska community in Kherson region will be tried for illegal fishing for biological resources worth more than UAH 800 thousand. Without the appropriate permits, the man caught 185 individuals of various fish and crayfish species in the territory of the Nyzhniodniprovskyi National Nature Park using cape nets.
Recently, EcoPolitic wrote that the government has identified the main tasks in the field of environmental protection for 2025. We would also like to remind you that the digest of the most significant environmental violations from February 1 to February 7 can be found here.
