Ihor Zubovych and Lisy Ukrayiny: Corruption, 23 Suspicions, and Million-Hryvnia Losses

At the state enterprise Lisy Ukrayiny, investigators are looking into alleged abuses during timber harvesting, timber sales, and transfers of funds through sham entrepreneurs. As part of the State Bureau of Investigation operation “Green Shield,” 12 criminal cases have been opened, 23 suspicions announced, 11 detentions carried out, and 39 searches conducted. Against this backdrop, acting CEO Ihor Zubovych accelerated the registration of rights to 64 thousand hectares of forest land in the Poltava region ahead of the planned transformation of the state enterprise into a joint-stock company. Zubovych himself appears in a separate proceeding concerning possible false declaration of over 26 million hryvnias, but his involvement in the schemes being examined under the “Green Shield” operation has not been confirmed.

The largest of the cited episodes concerns timber-harvesting contracts with a total value of over 178 million hryvnias. According to investigators’ version, in Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, and Vinnytsia regions some contractors were registered as performing the work despite lacking the necessary number of employees and specialized equipment. After signing the documents, state funds were transferred to the contractors. In one episode, the potential losses are estimated at 9,2 million hryvnias. The final circumstances of the contracts and each participant’s role must be established by investigators and the court, media report.Another episode concerns Zhytomyr region, where, according to the investigation, about 9 million hryvnias may have been routed through individual entrepreneurs. Under the described scheme, 17% of funds were withheld for converting the money into cash, and the rest was returned to the organizers. If these circumstances are proven, it would involve using formally lawful business transactions to siphon off state funds. At present the cited sums are estimates within the investigation, not damages finally determined by a court.In Rivne and Volyn regions, 12 officials are accused of selling timber at underpriced rates, which investigators estimate caused nearly 6,9 million hryvnias in damage. Other proceedings cover possible illegal sanitary logging with losses of 6,5 million hryvnias, the destruction of 448 trees in Kyiv region with preliminary losses of 3,2 million hryvnias, and logging of 15,4 hectares in the Chorny Lis nature reserve. In that last episode the preliminary size of the damage exceeds 5 million hryvnias.Ihor Zubovych became head of Lisy Ukrayiny on 1 July 2026. In his first month in office he received 732,5 thousand hryvnias in salary. Before his appointment, Zubovych worked at the State Committee for Land Resources, the Kyiv Regional State Administration, the State Environmental Inspectorate, and the relevant ministry. His prior professional experience covered land, environmental, and administrative fields.A separate proceeding concerning Ihor Zubovych was registered in February 2026 under article 366-2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine after the National Agency on Corruption Prevention found discrepancies in his declaration for 2024 amounting to over 26 million hryvnias. That proceeding concerns possible false declaration and is not evidence of Zubovych’s involvement in the forestry schemes being investigated under the “Green Shield” operation. Publications about the official’s assets mentioned BMW cars, apartments in Kyiv, and a land plot in Zatoka. Mentions of assets alone do not establish their illegal origin.

Zubovych’s predecessor Yurii Bolokhovets was suspected of illegal enrichment in July 2025. Investigators’ version holds that he may have acquired assets worth 10,4 million hryvnias, including an apartment in Kyiv valued at more than 9 million hryvnias, registered to another person. Investigators assessed the difference between the property’s value and confirmed income at 7,9 million hryvnias. A suspicion does not mean established guilt; the court must give the final assessment of the circumstances.Questions also arise about staffing decisions at the enterprise’s branches. Vitalii Koshmak headed the Poliskyi Forest Office branch. Materials about his declarations mentioned over two hectares of purchased land, an apartment, and entrepreneurial income by his wife totaling more than 2 million hryvnias. These facts alone do not indicate a violation but are part of the public context around appointments in the state forestry sector.The head of the Slobozhanskyi Forest Office branch, Oleksandr Lysenko, was featured in March 2026 in reports about an SBU detention in a case concerning the alleged sale of valuable timber disguised as firewood. The investigation was checking circumstances of possible receipt of 1,3 million hryvnias for nearly 200 cubic meters of timber. At the same time, on 14 October Lysenko was again presented as branch director during a meeting attended by Zubovych, acting head of the State Agency of Forest Resources Volodymyr Buchko, his deputy Maksym Zheleznyak, and the head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Vitalii Diakivnych. Participation in the meeting itself does not justify conclusions about the results or procedural status of the criminal proceeding at that date.Parallel to this, Lisy Ukrayiny are registering rights to about 64 thousand hectares of forest land in the Poltava region. Of roughly 240 thousand hectares, 176 thousand hectares have already been registered. The regional administration is considering 90 packages of documents for 10,5 thousand hectares, and another 3,7 thousand hectares are at the state registration stage. Completion of registration is planned by the end of 2026, before the state enterprise is transformed into a joint-stock company. In such conditions, the timeliness of registration, completeness of land documentation, and control over assets matter for the future ownership structure and asset management.In regions where possible abuses are being investigated, the Central Forest Office and the Capital Forest Office branches operate. However, the geographic overlap between the branches’ activities and the regions under investigation does not automatically imply their leaders’ involvement in specific episodes. The investigation must establish who made decisions, signed documents, organized logging, or approved transfers of funds.For Lisy Ukrayiny, the investigation results could have implications for the system of control over contracts, timber sales, and management of state forest assets. At the same time, assessing the responsibility of Ihor Zubovych, Yurii Bolokhovets, Oleksandr Lysenko, and other officials should be done separately—based on the materials of each specific proceeding and taking court decisions into account. The number of suspicions and searches reflects the scale of investigative actions but does not substitute for proving each person’s guilt.