A local councillor and head of a forestry enterprise in the Lviv region is to stand trial over the illegal felling of trees worth over 100 million hryvnias
Officers from the Strategic Investigations Department of the National Police in Lviv Oblast, in collaboration with the State Bureau of Investigations, have concluded a pre-trial investigation into the director of one of the region’s municipal forestry enterprises. He is also a sitting member of the Slavska Town Council.
According to the investigation, between 2019 and 2023, the official issued 58 logging permits for so-called ‘thinning’ operations. Law enforcement agencies note that this type of logging is not provided for under Ukrainian law.
The investigation established that, under the guise of such work, over 18,000 trees were illegally felled in the Stryi district. This amounts to 18,985 trees on the territory of the enterprise under his authority.
The State Bureau of Investigation and the National Police believe that the official was fully aware of the lack of legal grounds for such logging, yet continued to issue the relevant permits. Some of these approvals were also included in the organisation’s forestry management plans.
According to the investigation’s findings, the state and the environment suffered losses amounting to over 103 million hryvnias.
The indictment has been sent to court. The defendant is charged with illegal logging resulting in serious consequences, under Part 4 of Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
The penalty under this article provides for up to seven years’ imprisonment.
Prosecutors have also filed civil claims on behalf of the state for over 103 million hryvnias against the suspect and the company to recover the losses.
