The state enterprise «Forests of Ukraine» has transferred billions of hryvnias to contractors, some of whom lack their own equipment and staff, including newly registered sole proprietorships (FOPs). The State Audit Service of Ukraine has officially announced large-scale violations during logging tenders. Despite ongoing criminal proceedings and public resonance, the practice of concluding questionable deals within the forestry sector continues.
Over the past year, 22 new FOPs specializing in logging were registered in Ukraine, almost immediately winning state procurement contracts worth millions of hryvnias. In total, tens of millions of hryvnias were distributed among several regional offices of the state enterprise.
Among the newly established businesses, three entrepreneurs received the largest sums:
52-year-old Halyna Hresko – 44.4 million UAH from the Capital Forestry Office;
68-year-old Hanna Palamarenko – 25.1 million UAH from the Central Forestry Office;
22-year-old Mykola Romanenko – 12.6 million UAH from the Northern Forestry Office.
The most illustrative example involves Halyna Hresko from the village of Paranyne, Zhytomyr Oblast. She registered her FOP in August 2025 and, with no prior business experience, signed her first contract within a few days. Over just 10 months of operation, the total value of her contracts with SE «Forests of Ukraine» reached over 44 million UAH.
According to the enterprise’s regulations, to secure such contracts, a participant must provide proof of performing similar work alongside a letter of recommendation. In Hresko’s case, the official recommendation was personally signed by Serhiy Zayets, the head of the Capital Forestry Office.
«Taking into account the experience of cooperation with FOP Hresko, we recommend partnering with this contractor,» the document signed by the official states.
Journalists discovered that the initial agreement with the entrepreneur was valued at 24,500 UAH. Since mandatory open tenders are required for purchases starting from 50,000 UAH, this direct contract was likely signed solely to artificially create the «cooperation experience» needed for subsequent major competitions.
Questions arise not only regarding the validity of the recommendation letters but also concerning the conduct of the auctions themselves. Halyna Hresko won her first major tender against the company «Forest Service Plus.» The private LLC was ready to perform the work for 4.198 million UAH, while Hresko proposed a higher price of 4.2 million UAH. Despite the financial benefit to the state offered by the competitor, «Forest Service Plus» voluntarily withdrew its winning bid in favor of the newly formed FOP.
Currently, no one responds to the phone number provided by Halyna Hresko in her registration documents and contracts. Law enforcement agencies and auditors continue to investigate the legality of these agreements.