Month: July 2025

“As of the end of the second quarter, the enterprise’s revenue from the sale of unprocessed timber reached UAH 8.9 billion.

“Forests of Ukraine” increased contributions to the state and local budgets by 40%! Tax payments in the first half of the year rose by over UAH 1.7 billion compared to the same period in 2024!

Post-tax profit is used to purchase new firefighting equipment (including 10 large fire trucks in the immediate plans), to develop modern seed centers and supporting infrastructure (forest roads, recreation sites, etc.), to restore forestry enterprises on de-occupied territories, and to mechanize harvesting (harvesters, forwarders, tractors, etc.).

The semi-annual contracts introduced at the initiative of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” management have proven highly successful. Under the forward contracts, buyers took delivery of the entire timber volume achieving a fulfillment rate of 101%!

Thanks to the forward contracts, wood processors can reserve the volume of raw material they need and lock in the price. The enterprise also benefits: the security deposit, refunded only after 97 % contract fulfillment, motivates buyers to take the entire contracted volume.

Next year, the share of forward contracts will be increased, with annual contracts also planned.

Under quarterly contracts for the second quarter, more than 95% of timber was shipped, which is a very high indicator, given the specifics of the sales system (unharvested timber is sold at auction) and the terms of the contracts (the buyer has the right to select up to 90% of the volume).

Most instances of non-fulfillment are attributable to buyers, who either refuse the goods or fail to make payment on time.

SFE “Forests of Ukraine” applies a flexible settlement policy, recognizing that producers may face working capital constraints since they do not receive immediate payment for the timber products they deliver.

But there are limits. Therefore, on occasion, the enterprise must suspend deliveries until the buyer settles outstanding debts, which to some extent impacts the contract fulfillment rate. Nevertheless, these are isolated incidents.

Overall, the timber market is currently balanced. The rapid appreciation of the euro has significantly strengthened Ukrainian exporters’ positions, so the forecasts for the second half of the year are more than optimistic,” says Yurii Bolokhovets.

“Many of them have received the highest state honours.

Today we warmly congratulate our forest master from the Drohobytske Forestry Management Unit of SFE “Forests of Ukraine,” Dmytro Khomin, on being awarded the “Golden Cross” distinction.”

Dmytro is one of those who, on the very first day of the full-scale invasion, voluntarily took up arms to defend Ukraine. He is currently carrying out combat missions with the 80th Air Assault Brigade.

He stopped the enemy in the Mykolaiv Region, took part in the counteroffensive in the Kherson Region, participated in the defense of Kreminna, in the operation in the Kursk Region, and in the defense of the Sumy Region.

On more than ten occasions, together with the Union Of Forestry Warriors Of Ukraine, they have sent Dmytro aid—radio stations, Starlink terminals, generators, charging stations, thermal imagers, quadcopters, an off-road vehicle, and other equipment.

This is not his first award. Last year, for the successful execution of combat missions and the preservation of his unit in challenging situations, Dmytro was honored with the “Cross of the Brave” distinction.

“We are incredibly proud!” said Yurii Bolokhovets.

The Security Department of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” has summed up its results for the first half of 2025.

The fewest incidents of illegal logging were recorded in Branch “Pivdennyi Forest Office” covering Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, and in Branch “Podilskyi Forest Office” in Ternopil and Khmelnytskyi regions.

The extent of damage in the regions mentioned is minimal.

Nearly half of all illegal logging occurs in Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk regions.

This year, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” integrated the Kharkiv state forestry enterprises from de-occupied territories, forming the Izyumske Forestry Management Unit on their basis. Inspections of these newly incorporated enterprises uncovered large-scale violations — the Security Department of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” has forwarded all case materials to law enforcement. Investigative authorities are now determining who, and on what grounds, felled thousands of cubic meters of timber.

The statistics for the Dnipropetrovsk Region reflect the limited access of the forest protection service to many forest areas, as the region is on the frontline.

This very factor applies to virtually all border regions—Sumy, Chernihiv, and so on.

In some rear regions, there is another problem—illegal loggers. At the end of last year, near the village of Yasinia in Rakhiv District, the police, together with the Security Department of SFE “Forests of Ukraine,” apprehended a group of local residents who had organized an illicit operation. They felled and transported up to 1,000 m³ of timber to nearby village sawmills. The damage is estimated at UAH 40 million. This is several times higher than the total losses recorded for the region in the first half of 2025. It is the consequences of such gangs’ activities, addressable only by law enforcement agencies, that drive the grim statistics on illegal logging.

How has the overall situation with illegal logging changed?

Data from the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine indicate that the average annual figures have remained more or less unchanged year-on-year.

The results for the first half of 2025 are unlikely to be an exception.

In fact, the forest protection service now records volumes of illegal logging that are three to four times lower than during the ten years preceding the establishment of SFE “Forests of Ukraine”.

Everything else is the result of the work of our internal security service. Prior to the forestry reform, there was simply no such structure as internal security focused on the systematic detection of violations. Today, its officers record what was previously concealed and did not appear in the official statistics.

Thus, the public has finally begun to see the real figures on illegal logging, rather than the fiction that had been “painted” in reports for decades.

Consequently, the answer is unequivocal: the situation is improving and oversight is tightening. However, there remain factors that foresters operating under martial law conditions cannot control.

The 49th Separate Assault Battalion “Karpatska Sich” is holding the line on the Toretsk direction, where fierce fighting continues. Delivering ammunition and provisions to the front for assault units has become markedly more challenging. Military vehicles are being hunted by enemy FPV drones and hit by artillery.

Ground‐based wheeled drones can help address this challenge. Most brigades are fielding them. These mini remote‐controlled transporters can reach speeds of up to 80 km/h and carry loads of up to 150 kg. Their key advantage is low visibility. Furthermore, losing a ground drone is far less painful than losing personnel.

The battalion is increasingly using such ground drones. However, they are not satisfied with the quality of the models supplied to the military unit. Broken equipment poses greater risks. It must be evacuated to the rear manually.

Within the battalion, there is a platoon responsible for servicing and repairing unmanned systems. Using their own repair facility, they can repair damaged drones and assemble new ones simultaneously. However, they lack specialized equipment and must rely on standard welding machines and other basic tools. This is inefficient, as repairs take a considerable amount of time.

Drawing on the experience of other brigades, the soldiers decided to establish a professional workshop of their own.

The 49th Separate Assault Battalion sent a request to SFE “Forests of Ukraine,” and we responded. The Union of Forestry Warriors Of Ukraine joined the effort, sourcing the necessary tools and equipment directly from manufacturers.

Currently additional quipment is being procured. Beyond the basic tool set, the mini-factory will include a drill-bit sharpening machine, a screw-cutting lathe, a belt-sanding machine, a plasma-cutting unit, and more. The total cost exceeds UAH 7 million.

What are other advantages of in-house production of ground drones:

-Producing ground drones in-house is twice as cheap.

-The mini-factory will increase productivity fivefold.

The handover will take place soon!