Over five years — from 2019 to 2023 — a scheme operated in Stryi district of Lviv region that resulted in the destruction of more than 18,000 trees in Carpathian forests. According to the investigation, it was organized by Vitaly Pavlov, director of the Slavske subsidiary forest management enterprise "Halsilllis" and a current deputy of the Slavske village council of the eighth convocation from the "For the Future" party.
How the scheme worked
The mechanism was formally flawless. Pavlov signed official logging permits — state permits for tree felling — but linked them to the category of "sparse forest cutting." The problem is that such a type of felling does not exist in Ukrainian forest legislation at all.
"Such a type of felling does not exist in Ukrainian legislation at all"
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, April 2026
To legalize the scheme, the director's subordinates entered these cuttings into official forest management activity organization projects — despite regulations not providing for such practices. According to the investigation conducted by the National Police's Security Service together with the State Bureau of Investigation, a total of 58 logging permits were issued on false pretenses.
Over five years, the scheme's operation covered lands that the official was obligated to reforest — they were occupied by sparse forest and subject to restoration, not felling. The environmental damage, according to the investigation's calculations, exceeded 103 million hryvnias.
From suspicion to court
Pavlov was officially notified of suspicion in April 2026. Already in May, the Specialized Environmental Prosecution of the Office of the Prosecutor General submitted an indictment to court. The charges were qualified under Part 4 of Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — illegal forest felling committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy that caused grave consequences. The article's sanction provides for five to seven years imprisonment.
In accordance with Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a suspect is presumed innocent until the verdict becomes legally binding.
- Enterprise: Slavske Subsidiary Forest Management Enterprise "Halsilllis" (structural subdivision of Regional Forest Management Enterprise "Halsilllis")
- Period of crime according to investigation: 2019–2023
- Number of destroyed trees: over 18,000
- Number of permits issued: 58
- Environmental damage: over 103 million hryvnias
- Article: Part 4 of Article 246 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, up to 7 years imprisonment
The case is notable not only for its scale. The director had headed the enterprise since 2008 and simultaneously was elected to the local council — it was precisely this status, according to the investigation's logic, that helped the scheme remain undetected for more than four years. The question the court must resolve is whether senior management of "Halsilllis," who were required to approve forest management organization projects with these non-existent cuttings entered into them, knew about the scheme.
