Eight hectares of protected land located within the Kivertsi National Park "Tsumanska Pushcha" in the Volyn region must be returned to the state. The land was used by an agricultural enterprise, but due to complex land schemes and repeated changes of ownership, it ended up in private hands—those of the co-founder of the company and the director's wife.
This was reported by the Center for Investigative Journalism "The Power of Truth."
How the reserve's land was privatized
Back in 2000, the Volyn-based company Demetra received 34 and 278 hectares of land for permanent use. The Tsumanska Pushcha National Park was created later, ten years later. And so it happened that part of the reserve's land "overlapped" with the company's territory.
However, Demetra did not officially oppose the creation of the nature reserve. Moreover, the private company agreed to the creation of the national park and signed conservation obligations regarding the protected lands. But in practice, no one intended to give up or protect the plots.
The land went through several stages before becoming private property. First, in 2020, Demetra director Oleg Vovdyuk agreed to the alienation of part of the territory. Then it was divided up, and the State Land Registry transferred 2-hectare "patches" to various individuals. They were re-transferred several times and then reunited in 2021. As a result, 4 hectares of protected land became the property of Oleg Vovdyuk's wife Lyudmila, and another 4 hectares became the property of Oksana Volk, co-founder of the Demetra company.
From 2020 to 2025, the private company was repeatedly involved in cases of illegal tree felling in the protected area. This is not directly related to the land fraud case, but it adds to our understanding of the values held by the company and its management.
Source: "Syla Pravdy"
Restoration of the land
Back in the summer of 2023, the Prosecutor’s Office, acting in the interests of the state, filed a lawsuit to eliminate obstacles to the use of the national park’s lands. Prosecutors demanded the cancellation of state registration under private individuals’ names, as well as the nullification of all land agreements and orders.
However, in 2025, the Kivertsi District Court denied the prosecutors’ claim, citing the absence of officially determined boundaries for the "Tsumanska Pushcha" park. Another reason was the land’s designated use in the State Land Cadastre, where the plot was not subject to any conservation restrictions and had only agricultural land status.
Nevertheless, prosecutors attempted to appeal the decision. In February 2026, the Volyn Court of Appeal partially upheld the lawsuit and ruled to eliminate obstacles to the use of the land plots, returning them to state ownership.
According to "Syla Pravdy", Oleh Vovdyuk continues to pursue privatization of lands with protected status. For example, at a session of the Lutsk City Council, an issue was raised regarding the approval of a land management project for allocating a plot in the same area.
EcoPolitic previously reported that prosecutors in Zakarpattia region are seeking through the courts to grant protected status to primeval forests covering nearly 1,400 ha.
