They felled trees worth ₴650,000: court places three Mykolaiv residents under house arrest

Three residents of Mykolaiv are suspected of illegal tree felling. Photo: Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office

The prosecutor’s office has notified three residents of Mykolaiv that they are under suspicion. They are suspected of illegally felling trees in protected forest areas.

This was reported by the Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office.

According to law enforcement, between November 2025 and April 2026, three residents of Mykolaiv, who had conspired in advance, systematically and illegally felled trees of various species. They used chainsaws for this purpose and sold the felled timber.

«As a result of these unlawful actions, a significant number of trees were destroyed, causing the state material damage amounting to over 650,000 hryvnias,» the prosecutor’s office reported.

All those involved have been detained. The court has imposed a preventive measure on them in the form of round-the-clock house arrest. They face a prison sentence of between 5 and 7 years.

Three men from Mykolaiv are suspected of illegal tree felling. Photo: Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office

Three men from Mykolaiv are suspected of illegal tree felling. Photo: Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office

Three Mykolaiv residents are suspected of illegal tree felling. Photo: Mykolaiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office

As a reminder, residents of Mykolaiv spoke out against a petrol station in a green area at a public meeting.

Construction of a petrol station in Mykolaiv

On 1 April, it emerged that the company «Svit Zdoroviia» had, on its third attempt, passed the public consultation and received permission to build a petrol station complex with car service shops in a green area near the «Zoria» factory in Mykolaiv, at the junction of Kober Street and Bohoiavlenskyi Avenue.

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NikVesti has learnt that the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report was signed by Vitalii Kindrativ, Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment and Agriculture, who served as Deputy Head of the Mykolaiv Regional State Administration in 2016–2017.

Against this backdrop, residents of the Inhulskyi district of Mykolaiv have appealed to Ihor Kopytin, asking him to intervene in the situation surrounding the planned construction of the petrol station complex. Local residents are demanding that the green area be preserved and that the felling of 192 trees, including mature oaks, be prevented. Following this, the councillor appealed to Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko and asked her to intervene in the situation.

It was previously reported that the Mykolaiv Department of Housing and Communal Services had identified inaccuracies in the environmental impact assessment report concerning the construction of a petrol station complex in Mykolaiv, in the park near «Zoria». They are proposing that the company abandon the construction or relocate the facility to another site.

As is known, on 23 February, a second public hearing was held regarding the construction of the petrol station in the park near «Zoria». Representatives of the developer faced a barrage of criticism from local residents, who vowed to defend the green space. In particular, environmental activist and head of the organisation «Eco-Oberih Mykolaiv», Larysa Leonova, highlighted violations during the public consultation on the construction of the petrol station, which is planned to be built on the site of the green space.

The Ministry of Economy held a second round of public consultations regarding the construction of the petrol station. The previous public hearings took place online on 2 July 2025. At that time, participants criticised the EIA report and accused the developer of plagiarism.

In November 2025, readers of NikVesti drew attention to markings on oak trees and expressed concern that the area might be cleared for the construction of a petrol station. Following this, environmentalists inspected the oak trees along Kober Street in Mykolaiv, near the Zoria factory. According to the inspectors’ findings, all the trees are in satisfactory condition, the markings were applied haphazardly, and there are no grounds for felling them.

Read also the article «How did the City Council hand over land for the construction of a petrol station in Mykolaiv instead of going to court?»