The Cabinet of Ministers has decided to extend restrictions on the export of certain types of raw materials that it has designated as strategic. Zero export quotas apply in particular to fuel and unprocessed wood.
This was reported on the official website of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine.
"During the full-scale war, logging volumes have significantly decreased due to hostilities. At the same time, wood processing enterprises are facing a shortage of raw materials and are forced to idle, while for many rural communities, firewood remains a key resource for heating in winter," Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko commented on this decision.
According to the government, this decision will help preserve the country's strategic resources by reducing dependence on imports. The types of wood affected by the restriction play an important role in meeting the needs of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, heating Ukrainian homes, and operating enterprises that depend on this raw material.
According to the resolution, among the goods whose export is subject to licensing and has received zero quotas for 2026 are:
- coniferous fuelwood in the form of logs, billets, brushwood, twigs, branches, or similar forms;
- unprocessed timber, with or without bark or bast, whether roughly squared or not, except for pine.
EcoPolitiс reported that such export restrictions were first introduced on October 31 in 2025. At that time, this was a response to a business request.
Due to the full-scale war, Ukraine lost about 20% of its forest fund land. Nearly half a million hectares of Ukrainian forest have been mined or contaminated with explosive objects.
Nevertheless, this does not prevent the Ministry of Economy from planning to increase scheduled volumes of timber harvesting, while hundreds of thousands of hectares of self-seeded forests still remain unregistered and at risk of destruction.
