In various regions, prosecutors are attempting to return nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries to state ownership, often with considerable success. At the same time, due to the negligence of officials, illegal loggers are destroying forests, and fires are engulfing landfills.
EcoPolitic has compiled information on environmental crimes for the period from May 23 to 29. The data was obtained from open sources—resources of the Office of the Prosecutor General and regional prosecutor’s offices, the State Bureau of Investigations, and the State Environmental Inspection.
Illegal subsurface resource exploitation
Instead of growing crops, one of the enterprises in the Kharkiv region decided to extract minerals. In the process, they damaged fertile soil, causing over 100 million UAH in environmental damage. In total, over 15,000 tons of loam and clay were extracted from two illegal quarries. The prosecutor’s office is now demanding that the company pay for the damages.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
One of the municipal enterprises in Lviv region illegally used water from underground wells. The damage to the environment caused by violations of water protection regulations amounted to over UAH 1.4 million. The illegal water extraction occurred without a special permit for subsoil use. The court ordered the enterprise to compensate for the damage caused.
Profiteering on green energy
The mayor of a city in Odesa region was detained for demanding a bribe for a permit to build a wind power plant. Neither the critical importance of the facility in wartime nor the presence of foreign investors deterred the official from seeking personal gain. For a routine certificate to remove green plantings along access roads, the mayor received $35,000 to a cryptocurrency wallet. More details about this crime can be found in our article.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
The fight for valuable land
The forest was turned into a landfill under the pretense of a contracting agreement. In Dnipropetrovsk region, the former state enterprise “Dnipro Forestry” transferred 23.3 ha of forest in the Sazhivka ravine to another business entity under the guise of a contract. In reality, the contractor used the plot free of charge as a construction waste dump. Prosecutors filed a lawsuit to return the forest fund lands to the state.
The battle over the "Osokorivski Meadows" landscape reserve continues in Kyiv. A developer is attempting to challenge the Kyiv City Council’s decision to establish the nature reserve. The plan is to build a road to a residential complex through a valuable natural ecosystem. Notably, the trial court agreed with the developer’s arguments regarding the appointment of an expert review and the suspension of proceedings. However, on appeal, prosecutors succeeded in proving that such an expert review would merely delay the court proceedings. Therefore, the case is being returned to the trial court to continue consideration on the merits.
Source: Office of the Prosecutor General
In Volyn, prosecutors are demanding through the courts that the Dubechno Village Council finally formalise the ownership documents for the state ornithological reserve "Urochysche Kostyanove," with an area of 20 ha. This unique area is under threat of misuse. Moreover, without demarcating its boundaries, it is impossible to place the site under protection.
This week also saw a number of positive developments in which forest and conservation lands were returned to the state or communities. Notably, in all cases, valuable areas had "accidentally" been assigned agricultural use.
- In Kherson region, 96.6 ha of land will be removed from the communal ownership of the Mylivka Village Council. These lands contain unique steppe natural complexes and are part of the Kamyanska Sich National Nature Park.
- The lands of the "Steppe Canyon" landscape reserve in Dnipropetrovsk region have been used for agricultural purposes since 2020, despite having conservation status. Recently, prosecutors succeeded in having the lease right of a farming enterprise to this 16 ha plot revoked through the courts.
- In Rivne region, 41 ha of forest land was returned to state ownership by court order. Previously, the local unit of the StateGeocadastre had unlawfully transferred these areas to communal ownership as agricultural lands.
- A similar fate befell 22 ha of land in Volyn. Although they are actually part of the Tsuman Pushcha National Nature Park, they also unexpectedly ended up in communal ownership with an agricultural designation. Through the courts, these valuable plots were returned to the state.
Illegal logging
"Thinning operations" not authorized by law have led to the destruction of nearly 19,000 fully mature trees in the Lviv region. The losses to the state are colossal—over 103 million hryvnias. The person accused of this industrial-scale destruction of forests is a current member of the village council and, at the same time, the director of one of the district forestry enterprises. Over the course of four years, he issued 58 logging permits intended to legalize the unprincipled felling of trees. The indictment is already in court. The official faces up to seven years in prison. EcoPolitic wrote about this large-scale crime in more detail in a separate article.
Source: State Bureau of Investigation
On the territory of the "Pidvarivskyi" botanical reserve in Poltava region, more than 150 oak trees were destroyed. The environmental damage exceeded 8 million UAH. Law enforcement officers reported suspicion to a forest master of one of the forestry districts of the Poltava branch of the "Slobozhanskyi Forestry Office" of SE "Forests of Ukraine". He is accused of official negligence with severe consequences. The specialist was supposed to protect the forest from illegal logging but failed to perform his duties.
Source: Poltava Regional Prosecutor's Office
Since the beginning of 2026, five inspectors of the Department of Phytosanitary Security of the Main Directorate of the State Service of Ukraine on Food Safety and Consumer Protection in the Vinnytsia region established a scheme for issuing falsified certificates. Without any real inspection, they issued counterfeit documents and made unauthorized changes to the automated system. The investigation established that the officials did not perform these actions for free. There is documented evidence of one of the suspects receiving a bribe for issuing such a document. If the guilt of these officials is proven, they face imprisonment from three to seven years.
Environmental pollution
Due to the inaction of the director of one of the enterprises in the Dnipropetrovsk region, a large-scale fire occurred at a solid waste landfill back in August 2025. The indictment was recently sent to court. The fire lasted two days and covered an area of 2.2 ha, releasing 1,700 t of pollutants. In particular, nitrogen and carbon dioxide were emitted into the atmosphere. Environmental losses amounted to nearly 8 million UAH.
Source: Dnipropetrovsk Regional Prosecutor's Office
Lands within the boundaries of the village of Letychiv, Khmelnytskyi region, were contaminated with phosphorus and petroleum products. The environmental damage exceeded 12.8 million UAH. After calculating the extent of the damage, the State Environmental Inspectorate transferred the materials to the regional prosecutor's office.
Cruelty to animals
A real sentence for killing a dog. In January 2026, a resident of Netishyn in Khmelnytskyi region threw a toy terrier out of a seventh-floor window. The animal died from its injuries. Despite the fact that the man persistently denied his guilt, insisting that the dog “jumped out of the window on its own,” he was sentenced to five years of imprisonment.
