Pochaiv Monastery employee to be tried for damage to grass and bushes

Damage to grass and bushes in the Pochaiv forestry. Photo: Telegram channel of the Ternopil Prosecutor’s Office

The Ternopil Prosecutor’s Office announced that it had "submitted an indictment to the court against an authorized representative of one of the monasteries, accused of deliberately damaging the territory of a nature reserve site."

According to the investigation, in December 2012, a contract was signed between the state enterprise Kremenets Forestry and the monastery for the right to long-term temporary use of forests, under which a forest plot with a total area of six hectares was allocated to the monastery.

The prosecutor’s office claims that "the arrangement of temporary structures, fencing, and the storage of construction material remnants and agricultural equipment on the forest plot within the general zoological reserve from 2017 to 2023 led to damage to the nature reserve area."

The indictment states that "significant changes in the vegetation cover, as well as the destruction and damage of trees, bushes, and grass, have been recorded."

The damage to the state caused by the harm to the general zoological reserve is estimated at more than 200,000 UAH.

All losses have already been compensated by the accused during the investigation.

Earlier, the UOJ reported that the prosecutor’s office had opened a criminal case against the Pochaiv Monastery.

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