The Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office has submitted an indictment to the court against three officials of the forestry sector.

They are accused of illegal logging in particularly large amounts, abuse of office, and falsification of official documents (Part 4 of Article 246, Part 2 of Article 364, and Part 1 of Article 366 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

It has been established that the foresters, in collusion with the acting head of the forestry, organized the illegal logging of valuable tree species in the forest quarters of the "Labushna" area of the Balta territorial community.

During September-October 2024, 120 oak and ash trees were illegally cut down in the area.

To cover up their illegal activities, the foresters used contracts for sanitary logging and entered false information into the electronic timber accounting system.

Thus, instead of protecting and safeguarding the environment, the forestry officials facilitated the destruction of trees: they provided permits and advice on logging locations, warned in advance about inspections, removed obstacles, and assisted in the sale of illegally harvested timber.

As a result of these illegal actions, the environment suffered damage exceeding 2 million UAH.

The pre-trial investigation in the criminal proceedings was conducted by investigators of the Main Investigation Department of the National Police in the Odesa region.

Note: According to Article 62 of the Constitution of Ukraine, a person is presumed innocent of committing a crime and cannot be subjected to criminal punishment until their guilt is proven in a lawful manner and established by a guilty verdict of the court.