Illegal logging in nature reserves and forests and tens of millions in environmental damage - Kravchenko spoke about five cases
Kyiv • UNN
Prosecutors are prosecuting officials and forest users for illegal logging in nature reserves and forests. The total amount of environmental damage is almost UAH 95 million.
Prosecutors continue to prosecute perpetrators for illegal logging in nature reserves and forests, with almost UAH 95 million in environmental damage in just five cases. This was announced by Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko on Thursday, UNN reports.
Illegal logging in nature reserves, thousands of trees destroyed, and tens of millions of hryvnias in environmental damage. Environmental prosecutors, through the courts, ensure compensation for damages and bring to justice officials and forest users who allowed or organized the destruction of forests in various regions of Ukraine.
Details
The Prosecutor General provided details of five cases:
- In Ternopil region, a large-scale case has been sent to court regarding accusations of official negligence (Part 2, Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) against the director, chief forester, and administrator of a state forestry enterprise. According to the investigation, 6,267 trees were destroyed due to illegal document processing, causing almost UAH 57 million in environmental damage;
- In Dnipropetrovsk region, an indictment has been sent to court against the former director and engineer of one of the branches of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine." According to the investigation, they organized sanitary felling without proper permits within the regional landscape park "Dnipro Forests." As a result, almost 500 trees were illegally cut down, causing over UAH 22 million in environmental damage (Part 2, Article 28, Part 3, Article 365, Part 4, Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine);
- In Zhytomyr region, an indictment has been sent to court against the former director of the State Enterprise "Hrozynske," an official responsible for the enterprise's forestry, and the head of a private company. They organized illegal logging in forest areas transferred to the state enterprise for protection. To do this, they used a forged logging ticket. From December 2022 to June 2023, 2,321 trees of various species were illegally cut down, causing over UAH 12.8 million in environmental damage. The actions of the accused are qualified under Part 3, Article 28, Part 4, Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - illegal logging committed by an organized group. The actions of the former director and official of the state enterprise are additionally qualified under Part 2, Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine - abuse of power or official position. The property of the suspects has been seized;
- In Ivano-Frankivsk region, a forest user will be charged over UAH 2.4 million in damages for illegal logging within the landscape reserve of national importance "Kozakova Dolyna." Here, 91 trees, including oaks and beeches, were destroyed without permits. The Supreme Court on February 11, 2026, confirmed the legality of the decisions of previous instances and dismissed the defendant's cassation appeal;
- In Kirovohrad region, a former forest master of the Onykiiv forestry was notified of suspicion of official negligence that caused serious consequences to state interests (Part 2, Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine). Due to improper control over forest preservation, 77 oak, maple, and ash trees were illegally cut down, causing over UAH 462,000 in damages to the state.
"The environmental prosecutor's office continues its work to protect the state's natural resources, bring the perpetrators to justice, and compensate for environmental damage. We continue to work," Kravchenko emphasized.