A forester from Ternopil region will face trial for the illegal logging of oak trees, causing damages exceeding 600,000 UAH.

In the Ternopil region, a state forestry employee is facing trial for official negligence, which led to the illegal logging of oaks in the Monastyryshche community, resulting in damages exceeding 600,000 UAH. Law enforcement officials established that the official was aware of the illegal logging but failed to report it to the relevant authorities. The investigation has been completed, and the case has been forwarded to court.

During the pre-trial investigation, Ternopil police found that the forester of the state forestry enterprise was inadequately performing his duties, the Ternopil prosecutor's office reported on Thursday, February 27.

The forestry employee failed to timely detect and halt illegal tree felling and did not identify the individuals responsible for it. Additionally, he did not report these loggings to the management of the forestry enterprise. Specifically, this pertained to illegal logging in Monastyryshche during June-July 2022, when unknown perpetrators illegally cut down 33 oaks. This caused environmental damage amounting to over 600,000 UAH.

After the completion of the pre-trial investigation, prosecutors filed a lawsuit for this amount to recover damages to the environment. In particular, employees of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of Ternopil submitted an indictment to the court against the former forester of the state forestry enterprise under part 2 of Article 367 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (Official Negligence). If the official's guilt is proven, he faces imprisonment for up to five years, along with a prohibition on holding certain positions or engaging in specific activities for up to three years. Additionally, he will be required to pay a fine of up to 12,750 UAH.