In the Zhikhor microdistrict of Kharkiv, a local company plans to expand a sand quarry. The community and environmentalists have been fighting against this for over two years. After all, mining threatens local recreation—Ozoviansky Lake and the forest located on its shore.
According to a source at EcoPolitics, the company Reisis is not abandoning its plans to extract sand on recreational land. The next public hearings are scheduled for December 12 at 10:00 a.m.
Sanitary logging turns into mass logging
The local community is systematically covering the logging of forests in areas that the company presumably wants to acquire.
"Due to someone's business interests, there are plans to cut down 11 hectares of recreational forest in the Kharkiv recreation area. It seems that the plan is disguised as gradual 'treatment' of the forest, i.e., several sanitary cuttings, followed by complete deforestation," writes community representative Natalia.
According to local media representative Valery Lovchinovsky, the forests belong to the Zhovtnevy Forestry Department of the Slobozhansky Forest Office of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine." He systematically covers the situation in Zhikhor and documents the logging, which the forestry department calls "sanitary."
Photo: Valeriy Lovchynovskyi
The local community is concerned not only about the impact on plants but also on fauna. In the “Nash Lis” community, it was reported that the quarry’s activities are destroying the nesting sites of sand martins.
Photo: “Nash Lis” community
The company's previous attempt failed
In May, the Ministry of Environmental Protection refused to issue an environmental permit to Karier Osnova LLC, a subsidiary of Reisis, which was trying to legalize sand extraction in the forest on the shore of the lake. As reported at the time by the human rights organization Ecology – Law – Man, the reason was a number of shortcomings recognized by the Ministry. In particular, there was no proper assessment of the impact on water bodies, soil, flora, and fauna. The legality of expanding extraction into the forest area was not justified in any way.
This decision was preceded by public hearings, which brought together almost 600 participants online. Their progress was covered by the Kharkiv media outlet InfoCity. The expansion of the enterprise caused strong public outrage. People are concerned about the consequences of mining – increased dust and air pollution, and the destruction of trees due to sand washing.
This unprecedented public attention, together with the support of environmentalists and human rights activists, helped to defend the recreational area at that time. The community is seeking to repeat this success in December. They plan to prepare comments again and start collecting signatures against the expansion of sand extraction.
Public hearings on the fate of Lake Osnovianske will be held on December 12, 2025 at 10:00 online via the Webex platform.
Connection link.
Meeting number: 2794 011 4522
Password: JCtd8xQ3tF4
Earlier, EcoPolitics reported that a steppe area in Chernihiv region was destroyed by planting it with trees. Also, eco-activists appealed to the prosecutor's office over uncontrolled tree felling in national parks during the animal breeding season.
