The head of the farm in Vinnytsia region, where a massive fish kill occurred, was convinced that the Vinnytsia poultry farm was not involved - official statement

Oleksandr Korkh, CEO of the First Aquatic Industrial Company, visited the production facilities of the Vinnytsia Poultry Farm, which is part of the MHP Group, and personally verified that the company had nothing to do with the massive fish kill that occurred last October on one of the lakes of the Ladyzhyn Reservoir. This was stated in an exclusive commentary to UNN by MHP Group following Korkh's visit to the Vinnytsia poultry farm.

Details

Before that, the head of the Union of Ecologists of Ukraine, Viktor Bulgakov, said in an exclusive comment to UNN that the massive fish pestilence that occurred last October on one of the lakes of the Ladyzhyn reservoir in Vinnytsia region was in no way related to the activities of other enterprises located nearby and that the corporation had no claims in this regard.

MHP confirmed the absence of claims from Korch. They reminded the public that they had repeatedly informed the public about the company's non-involvement in the death of the Red Book sturgeon at the fish farm in October 2023, which is located on the Southern Bug River near Ladyzhyn. And Mr. Korch was able to see for himself.

Recently, Oleksandr Korkh, Director of First Aquaculture Company LLC, where the fish death occurred, met with MHP management. After the meeting, Mr. Korkh had the opportunity to personally visit the production facilities of Vinnytsia Poultry Farm (part of MHP Group). We provided answers to all the questions he asked during his visit. The information Oleksandr Korkh received gave him grounds to believe that MHP was not involved and that its activities did not cause the death of the Red Book sturgeon on his farm. He reported this to MHP's management

The MHP also added that they are interested in an objective investigation of the situation and establishing the true causes of the massive fish kill.

"MHP is a socially responsible company that operates within the framework of the current legislation of Ukraine and is transparent and open. We take all necessary measures to preserve the environment and implement environmentally friendly technologies. MHP has always insisted on an objective investigation of all the reasons for the fish kill. We also call on other farms located on the territory of Ladyzhyn City Council and in the vicinity of Mr. Korkh's fish farm to be open and involved in this matter. We hope for the understanding and cooperation of the media in preventing the spread of false statements and urge them to wait for the official results of the study in order not to cause reputational risks to other farms,"  the statement emphasizes.

Context

On October 3, 2023, a massive fish pestilence occurred on the lake of the Ladyzhyn Reservoir in the village of Stepashky, Vinnytsia region.

According to Oleksandr Korkh, head of the First Aquaproductive Company, three thousand sturgeon and beluga sturgeon with a total weight of nine tons died.

At the same time, Korkh said that the cause of the pestilence was the ingress of hazardous chemicals into the water.

His version was almost immediately questioned by the State Environmental Inspectorate in Vinnytsia Oblast, which took water samples in the lake. The results of the examination showed that the indicators of ammonium nitrogen, nitrite ions, phosphates, sulfates, and chlorite ions were within the permissible range.

According to the information UNN received from its own sources at the time, the fish were insured, and therefore could have been deliberately fed low-quality food.

This version, as the main one, was confirmed by the head of the Union of Ecologists of Ukraine, Viktor Bulgakov, in an exclusive commentary to UNN.