EcoPolitic journalists have collected for their readers the 9 most significant cases of environmental damage that became known during the week of March 22-28. Information about them was published by the press services of prosecutors, the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI), the media, as well as the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine and its subdivisions.
1. In Volyn, SBI officers, together with the police, the Security Service of Ukraine, and the Security Department of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” exposed a “forest mafia” operating on the territory of the Kamen-Kashyr Forestry branch of the State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”. During 2024, members of the criminal organization cut down the most valuable tree species on the territory of the forestry.
Photo: dbr.gov.ua.
To conceal their criminal activities, they repeatedly used the same logging ticket and waybills, and exported the cut wood under the guise of firewood. To conceal the crime, the defendants uprooted and burned stumps, and covered the felling sites with earth.
Photo: vol.gp.gov.ua.
Investigators say that from April to October 2024, members of the “forest mafia” illegally cut down more than 1.1 thousand trees of various species. By doing so, they caused damage to the environment in the amount of over UAH 6.4 million.
The illegal scheme was organized by a local businessman. He involved 15 other people in the scheme. Among them are 6 officials of the Kamen-Kashyr Forestry, one employee of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Volyn region, as well as entrepreneurs and carriers.
Photo: dbr.gov.ua.
11 members of the criminal organization have already been detained and notified of suspicion under four articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Three more criminals, who are currently hiding from the investigation, were served suspicion notices in absentia and put on the wanted list.
Photo: dbr.gov.ua.
Photo: dbr.gov.ua.
All defendants face imprisonment for up to 12 years with confiscation of property.
2. In Zakarpattia, a forester of the Lavka forestry received a suspicion of official negligence from the SBI. The investigation found that from March to June 2024, more than 480 trees of various species, including oak, hornbeam, and acacia, were cut down in several areas of the forestry without proper permits.
Photo: dbr.gov.ua.
The defendant in the case did not take measures to prevent illegal logging, did not help identify and prosecute offenders, and did not inform the management about the criminal actions. According to the expert opinion, the environmental damage caused exceeds UAH 5.2 million.
The official now faces up to 5 years in prison.
3. In Ivano-Frankivsk, an unknown orange liquid leaked from a sewer pipe into the city lake near the Parus residential complex. The video was posted on social media on March 26.
The Environmental Inspectorate has already taken water samples for analysis. The incident is being investigated by law enforcement.
Employees of the utility company are inspecting the networks near the city lake and checking them for illegal tie-ins.
4. The Inspectorate of the Prydniprovskyi District has recovered over UAH 3.5 million in damages from Dnipro Heat and Power Plant JSC for excessive air pollution. The environmental inspectors discovered this violation in January 2022, but the company refused to voluntarily compensate them.
According to the decision of the Commercial Court of Dnipropetrovska oblast, on March 25, the company paid for the damage in full.
5. In the Poltava region, environmental inspectors calculated UAH 1 million in damages caused by unknown poachers. The offenders were illegally fishing in the waters of the Kremenchuk Reservoir within the Sulynskyi Landscape Reserve near the village of Lipove. The materials were sent to the police.
6. This week, the State Ecological Inspectorate recorded a large number of cases of significant damage caused by illegal felling of trees by unknown persons. Here are the locations and amounts of damage:
- in Lviv region: in the right-of-way of the Kurovychi – Rohatyn highway, outside the village of Pohoriltsi of the Hlynianska territorial community – 43 maples and sycamores worth almost UAH 1.3 million;
- in Chernivtsi region: 35 trees of different species on the territory of the Kyselivskyi Haideyka dendrological park of local importance in the Verenchany territorial community worth almost UAH 2 million;
- 2 illegal felling in Chernihiv region: 65 trees of various species near the village of Veselivka in the Baturyn territorial community of Nizhyn district for UAH 1 million, and almost UAH 4 million in damage caused by the demolition of 109 trees of various species in the Mezyn National Nature Park.
EcoPolitics also wrote about two exposed criminal groups of “black loggers” in the previous digest.
