Under the procedural guidance of the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office, six former officials of the State Enterprise "Slovianske Forestry" and the chief microbiologist – head of the state specialized forest protection enterprise have been notified of suspicion in the illegal logging of trees, committed by a group of individuals in conspiracy, exceeding their authority, and official forgery. Additionally, the former head of the forestry has been charged with embezzlement of property (Part 2 of Article 28, Part 4 of Article 246, Part 3 of Article 365, Part 2 of Article 366, Part 4 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

According to the investigation, the acting director of the State Enterprise "Slovianske Forestry" entered into a criminal conspiracy with the chief microbiologist – head of the state specialized forest protection enterprise. Together with four foresters from the subordinate forestry units and the leading engineer for forest protection from the forestry and hunting management department, they organized the illegal logging of trees.

The suspects "conducted" forest pathology surveys of 790.8 hectares of plantations in the Mayatske, Katerynivske, Oleksandrivske, and Kramatorsk forestry units without even going to the sites.

Subsequently, the officials forged acts and indicated in the conclusions about the alleged infection of trees with infectious diseases. They then submitted fictitious documents for the issuance of logging tickets, resulting in illegal logging of trees over 50 hectares. The amount of damage caused to the state amounted to nearly 14.7 million UAH.

Moreover, the acting director, fully aware that the surveys had not actually been conducted, transferred 240,000 UAH of budget funds to the forest protection enterprise - the contractor under the contract.

The officials of the forestry have been dismissed from their positions. The procedural guidance is provided by the Donetsk Regional Prosecutor's Office. The pre-trial investigation and operational support are conducted by the Territorial Administration of the State Bureau of Investigation located in Kramatorsk.

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.