The Supreme Court agreed with the position of environmental prosecutors regarding the illegality of developing a sand deposit in the territory of "Starovyzhivskyi Bukovel".

Prosecutors established that the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine, in January 2024, contrary to the requirements of legislation on the protection of the natural reserve fund, sold a special permit for subsoil use for sand extraction from the Starovyzhivskyi deposit in the Kovel district at an electronic auction to a private enterprise.

The deposit is located within the forest fund of the Dubechne Forestry of the "Kovel Forestry" branch of the State Enterprise "Forests of Ukraine" in the territory of the local significance general zoological reserve "Smolyarivskyi" – and its development could subsequently lead to the destruction of a natural reserve fund object.

In addition, the deposit is located at the archaeological monument "Halyna Volya-1" - a Mesolithic site in the "Semenova Hora" area, which is included in the List of newly discovered archaeological heritage sites of the Volyn region and is under state protection.

The Economic Court of Kyiv in January 2025 satisfied the claim of the Kovel District Prosecutor's Office in the interests of the state against the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine and the business entity, recognized the order of the State Geology and Subsoil as illegal and canceled it, as well as declared the results of the auction, the purchase and sale agreement for the special permit for subsoil use, and this special permit invalid.

The Northern Appeal Economic Court upheld the decision of the first instance court.

Now, the Supreme Court has put an end to this story by rejecting the cassation appeals of the State Geology and Subsoil and the business entity that intended to develop the deposit.

Prosecutors in courts of all instances proved the illegality and inadmissibility of developing the deposit in the territory of the reserve.