The Prosecutor's Office of Ivano-Frankivsk Region filed a lawsuit against the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in a commercial court demanding compensation for 386.9 million hryvnias in damages from illegal logging in the territory of the Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park. According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, this is the largest lawsuit in the field of forest protection in the modern practice of Ukrainian prosecutors.
How the scheme operated
From April to December 2022, the then Kutske Forest Management — a structural subdivision of DSEP "Forests of Ukraine" — illegally cut down over 9,000 trees on the territory of Yablunivske and Berezivske forestries. According to the SBI, which conducted the pre-trial investigation, two former heads of the enterprise together with a department chief and an engineer organized a scheme of illegal timber permits issuance.
Officials systematically exceeded their official authority by issuing illegal permits ostensibly for forest sanitation in the Hutsulshchyna National Nature Park.
Office of the Prosecutor General
The key tool of the scheme — fictitious "sanitary felling": a formally legal mechanism for removing diseased or damaged trees, which in this case was applied without necessary limits and real grounds. The investigation established 59 timber permits issued in this manner. Valuable timber stands within the nature reserve fund fell under logging — over 195 hectares in area.
Scale larger than in the lawsuit
The civil lawsuit for 387 million concerns only part of the documented episodes. A separate criminal proceeding conducted by the SBI covers a wider scope: in September 2025, nine officials were notified of suspicion for damages already amounting to 721 million hryvnias. During an inspection of 195 hectares of the national park, investigators documented 13,194 illegally felled trees. The indictment against four direct participants in the scheme has already been submitted to court — they face up to 10 years imprisonment for abuse of official position.
- 9,000+ trees — logging volume within the lawsuit
- 13,194 trees — total number established by investigators on 195 hectares
- 59 timber permits — documentary basis of the scheme
- 387 million hryvnias — amount of the civil lawsuit
- 721 million hryvnias — damages under the SBI criminal proceeding
Suspicion exists — compensation in question
The commercial lawsuit was filed against a legal entity — DSEP "Forests of Ukraine", not against specific individuals. This means that damages, if confirmed by the court, will be covered by the state enterprise from the state budget — in fact, the state would pay itself, unless the parallel criminal proceeding results in asset confiscation or recovery from specific officials.
If the court satisfies the lawsuit but the verdict in the criminal case does not provide for regress claims against guilty individuals — the actual perpetrators of the scheme could avoid property liability, and compensation would fall on the shoulders of taxpayers.
