30.07.2024 Ecology Fortification

How Servant of the People Bondarenko and Minister of Ecology Strilets Are Blocking the Investigation into Illegal Logging in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone

Руслан Стрілець: "Сьогодні працюємо на Житомирщині" - Відкритий ліс

The pace of logging across Ukraine has reached alarming levels. Under the guise of “sanitary” purposes, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and the State Forestry Agency are actually funneling money, selling timber at a loss to the state. Let’s analyze how the vertical structure of timber harvesting in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone operates and how the cash is distributed among top officials.

In March of this year, the State Bureau of Investigations (SBI) reported suspicions against the acting director of the state enterprise “Pivnichna Pushcha” and his accomplices, who felled 185 century-old oaks in the Chornobyl Nature Reserve and attempted to sell them to a sawmill in Kyiv. The total damage to the state exceeds 59 million UAH.

After the case gained public attention, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets quickly established a special task force whose main goal was to investigate and inspect the actions of illegal loggers.

This task force included “the country’s leading environmentalists,” including the head of the Verkhovna Rada’s Committee on Environmental Policy and Natural Resources, Oleh Bondarenko, who effectively controls the State Forestry Agency led by Viktor Smal.

The group conducted thorough raids and discovered illegal logging in Chornobyl. The estimated damages from these sites alone amount to 70 million UAH, with the mass of felled trees exceeding 700 cubic meters, equivalent to 17 railcars.

Additionally, we personally discovered that the state enterprise “Pivnichna Pushcha” was involved in other manipulations. They signed fake contracts with the affiliated company “Forest Service Plus,” under which timber was supposedly transported using the company’s vehicles, although state-owned equipment was actually used. This also involved the misuse of reserve fuel intended for firefighters and the embezzlement of budget funds. The Pechersk District Prosecutor’s Office of Kyiv entered this information into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations under No. 42024102060000068, Part 2 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, but the investigation has not made significant progress.

What Was the Environmentalists’ Reaction?

The State Agency of Ukraine for the Exclusion Zone Management (SAUEZM), headed by Ruslan Strilets’ appointee Andriy Tumchuk, attempted to blame everything on the military. They claimed that the military had cut down all the trees for their own needs, presumably for defensive structures. But we understand that such large-scale logging is unlikely to be the result of military actions alone.

Moreover, according to the State Audit Service, the total damage and violations caused by “Pivnichna Pushcha” amount to 264 million UAH.

Will anyone be punished for these actions? Unlikely. After the initial public outcry, the case quickly quieted down: the inspections ended, and the main actors continued their criminal activities—cutting down forests, embezzling budgets, and profiting from fortifications (but more on that later).

As for the main “beneficiaries,” they are well-known: specifically, Oleh Bondarenko, Ruslan Strilets, and Andriy Tymchuk. All inspections were conducted under their close supervision, so it’s clear that the main culprits are unlikely to be punished.

“Sanitary logging” in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone continues unabated. Moreover, large-scale logging near Chornobyl is expected to resume soon.

What’s Happening with Fortifications?

The aforementioned Smal (head of the State Forestry Agency) and Bolokhovets (head of the State Enterprise “Ukrainian Forests”) continue to run schemes involving the supply of timber for fortifications in frontline regions. Under the guise of “sanitary logging,” they are massively destroying forests, later selling the timber at prices several times higher. Often, this process involves third-party, controlled legal entities to conceal the timber’s real origin. Is Minister Strilets aware of these schemes? Obviously, since he lobbied for Bolokhovets’ appointment, who is now nearly a millionaire.

According to our materials on Bolokhovets’ and his team’s criminal schemes related to fortification construction in frontline regions with the fraudulent resale of timber at inflated prices, the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv, by ruling dated July 8, 2024 (case No. 757/29506/24-k), ordered the authorized officials of the Kyiv Specialized Prosecutor’s Office in the defense sector to launch an investigation. But how objective will the investigation be? That’s a million-dollar question.

Where Do We Stand Now?

Strilets is creating the illusion of reforms. Bolokhovets and Smal are profiting from fortifications under the cover of Strilets. Tumchuk, who owns property in occupied Crimea, manages the exclusion zone and allows “sanitary logging” that damages the state. Meanwhile, Bondarenko, sitting in Parliament, personally oversees all illegal processes both in Kharkiv and Kyiv regions.

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