EcoPolitics journalists have collected the most damaging cases of environmental damage over the past week, from September 20 to 26.
1) In Zhytomyr region, illegal sand mining with environmental damage of more than UAH 68 million was exposed.
According to the investigation, a 34-year-old head of a company in Zhytomyr region organized illegal sand mining on a large scale. During 2024, the company illegally extracted more than 68 thousand cubic meters of sand without the necessary permits for the development of mineral resources and subsoil use.
Photo: pgo_gov_ua
Total environmental damage amounted to over UAH 68 million.
The head of the company was served a notice of suspicion under Part 3 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (illegal use of subsoil).
The pre-trial investigation is being carried out by investigators of the Main Department of the National Police in Zhytomyr region with the operational support of the Security Service of Ukraine in Zhytomyr region.
The official faces imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years.
Photo: pgo_gov_ua
2) In Dnipropetrovs'k region, three former managers of a military forestry enterprise will be tried for illegal logging worth almost UAH 70 million.
Investigators have completed a pre-trial investigation into three former heads of the Novomoskovsk Military Forestry from Dnipropetrovs'k region who for years allowed the illegal felling of thousands of trees.
The forestry enterprise was reorganized, but its leaders issued permits to cut down trees on the territory for which they were no longer responsible without proper documentation. As a result, illegal felling of trees of various species continued for years in the forests of the Ministry of Defense. The work was carried out by private companies, which then sold the wood in the interests of the organizers and participants of the crime.
Photo: DBRgovua
As part of the pre-trial investigation, 40 examinations were conducted, which established that due to the inaction of officials in 2023, trees worth more than UAH 68 million were illegally cut down.
The defendants face punishment under Part 3 of Article 365 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (abuse of power). The sanctioning articles provide for imprisonment for up to 10 years.
3) In the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, poachers caught fish worth UAH 3 million.
According to the state protection service of the Chornobyl Radiation and Ecological Biosphere Reserve, on September 10, an industrial fishing boat of Rybnyi Mir LLC was found on board with three fishermen who were illegally fishing in the Prypiat River. The offenders were using marked fishing gear.
State security inspectors called an investigative team, which seized about 200 kg of illegally caught fish, a boat and fishing gear from the suspects.
Photo: cntime.cn.ua
According to investigators, the total amount of losses amounted to UAH 3 million. The case file has now been handed over to law enforcement agencies to bring the perpetrators of illegal fishing to justice.
4) In Cherkasy region, the illegal extraction of kaolin worth almost UAH 190 million was exposed.
In Zvenyhorod district of Cherkasy region, illegal kaolin mining with losses to the state amounting to almost UAH 190 million was detected.
Photo: pgo_gov_ua
In total, the officials facilitated the extraction of 14 thousand tons of kaolin, causing losses to the state in the amount of over UAH 189 million. Currently, specialists of the Main Police Department of Cherkasy region with the operational support of the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police Department are conducting a pre-trial investigation.
The two officials were served a notice of suspicion of violating the rules of protection and use of subsoil under Part 4 of Article 240 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. They face imprisonment for a term of 5 to 8 years.
Photo: pgo_gov_ua
5) Illegal logging in the Ternopil region caused more than UAH 1.6 million in environmental damage.
A resident of Bukovyna is accused of illegally cutting down trees and shrubs in a nature reserve in Ternopil region.
The defendant involved several of his acquaintances in the felling. Using chainsaws, the men cut down wood in the Botanical Reserve of National Importance "Kryve Tract", which is part of the Dniester Canyon Landscape Park and belongs to the Nature Reserve Fund.
Photo: facebook.com
A resident of Chernivtsi region faces punishment under part 4 of Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (felling in the territory of a nature reserve fund, which caused grave consequences).
6) In Kirovohrad region, illegal mining of migmatite rock was recorded with losses to the state amounting to UAH 43 million.
Prosecutors in Kirovohrad region served a notice of suspicion to the director, chief engineer and surveyor of a mining company that mined 42 thousand tons of migmatite without the necessary permits.
Photo: pgo_gov_ua
According to the investigation, the director of the company organized illegal extraction of minerals of national importance on the territory of the Haivoronske deposit. During the period when the special permit for the use of subsoil was invalid, he continued to extract the rock on an industrial scale.
The defendant is charged under Part 4 of Article 240 (illegal extraction of minerals of national importance committed by explosion).
Photo: pgo_gov_ua
In Zhytomyr region, a court upheld a lawsuit filed by environmental prosecutors to recover UAH 15.6 million from Galaktik LLC for the illegal development of the Ocheretyansky labradorite deposit.
In total, the company's representatives illegally mined more than 5,700 cubic meters of labradorite. After the inspection calculated the damages and confirmed them with a forensic engineering and environmental examination, the amount of damage caused by the company amounted to more than UAH 15.6 million.
