Impressive scale of illegal mining: 450 thousand cubic meters of resources in five regions of Ukraine

Over 1.5 billion UAH of losses, 9 suspects, 5 regions, 450 thousand cubic meters of illegally extracted resources and at least 12 blasting operations – such are the impressive dimensions of the case of the theft of Ukrainian subsoil, which is being investigated by law enforcement officers.

Against the backdrop of war, budget deficits and the need to rebuild the country, the story of illegal mining looks especially cynical: resources that were supposed to work for the state and communities, according to the investigation, were used without permits or with gross violations.

As reported on June 22, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, 9 people were suspected as part of the investigation, including heads of state and municipal enterprises, officials of state-owned companies, the mayor, an arbitration manager-liquidator and a representative of private business.

According to the investigation, the defendants extracted minerals of national importance in 5 regions of Ukraine, in particular granite, gabbro, groundwater and other resources, the total volume of which exceeded 450 thousand cubic meters.

The largest episode in the case is related to over 375 thousand cubic meters of illegally mined granite, for which, as law enforcement officers established, at least 12 blasting operations were carried out, and the amount of damage to the state exceeded 1.25 billion UAH.

The story with groundwater dealt a separate blow to the communities: from 30 wells without proper permits, over 60 thousand cubic meters of water were extracted, which was used for centralized water supply, and the damage was estimated at more than 12.6 million UAH.

Behind each of these figures is not only a criminal case, but also the issue of control over the country’s strategic resources, because illegal mining destroys landscapes, depletes reserves and turns state wealth into private profit.

In addition, the story of the Priazovsky gas field in the Zaporizhia region was illustrative, where an asset with reserves of over 2.2 billion cubic meters of gas, more than 110 wells and an area of ​​almost 35 thousand hectares was tried to be sold for 630 thousand UAH at a cost of 7.8 billion UAH.

Ukrainian subsoil, which by law belong to the people, in such cases is transformed into a field for schemes with billions of losses, so the investigation of illegal mining for over 1.5 billion UAH has become another test of the state’s ability to protect its own resources.