EcoPolitic journalists have collected for their readers the 5 most significant cases of environmental damage that became known during the week of April 19-25. Information about them was published by the National Police of Ukraine, as well as the State Environmental Inspectorate and its subdivisions.
1. Environmental inspectors of the Polissia district calculated the damage caused by the contamination of land resources and air pollution as a result of the attack by an enemy drone. It exceeded UAH 465 million. On April 10, an enemy drone hit a high-rise building in Zhytomyr district. This caused emissions of pollutants into the air and soil contamination.
2. In Berdychiv, LLC “Complex of Ecological Facilities” has to pay more than UAH 1.6 million for the discharge of insufficiently treated wastewater into the Hnylopyat River. The claim for this amount was filed by the Polissya District State Environmental Inspectorate. Its experts found that from June 19 to December 31 last year, KES LLC discharged almost 700 thousand m3 of insufficiently treated wastewater into the river.
3. The police of Kharkiv region completed a pre-trial investigation into a group of 8 “black loggers” who were operating in the region. Since 2023, they have illegally cut down about 540 m3 of wood. The amount of material damage caused to the state is over UAH 5 million.
Photo: hk.npu.gov.ua.
All the defendants were suspected under Part 3 of Article 28, Part 4 of Article 246 (illegal felling or illegal transportation, storage, sale of timber) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The sanction of the article provides for up to 7 years in prison. The offenders will soon be brought to trial.
4. The State Ecological Inspectorate of the Carpathian District filed a claim against the Verenchany village council of Chernivtsi region for almost UAH 2 million for the illegal felling of 35 trees of different species on the territory of the Kyselivka Dendrological Park “Haideyka”, which is located within the administrative boundaries of this village council.
5. In Rivne region, environmental inspectors of the Polissia district charged more than UAH 935 thousand in damages for burning reeds by unidentified persons on a total area of 17 hectares in the territory of the Nobel National Nature Park. They sent the materials on this offense to the police.
Read about the biggest environmental violations recorded last week in our previous digest.
