Month: April 2026
This year, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” has planned record investments in firefighting equipment and gear — approximately UAH 400 million. This is three times more than last year.
Why does “Forests of Ukraine” invest in developing its own fire protection system instead of outsourcing this function to the State Emergency Service (SES)?
For example, in countries such as France, Italy, Greece, or Poland, the primary responsibility for extinguishing forest fires lies with fire and rescue services or civil protection authorities, while foresters mainly provide local knowledge — maps, access routes, and water sources.
In countries where there is no single operator and forest management is carried out by various types of forest users — private, municipal, and state-owned — it is logical for fire response systems to be centralized at the state level.
In Ukraine and several post-Soviet countries, a different model has historically developed. Full responsibility for organizing fire suppression lies with the forest user. The SES is involved only when a fire reaches the level of an emergency situation, as defined in Article 2 of the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine.
According to the criteria established by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the SES may be involved in extinguishing forest fires only when the fire area reaches the threshold of an emergency situation (over 50 hectares).
Responsibility of the forest user: regulatory framework
In 2004, the State Forestry Committee of Ukraine issued Order No. 278 “On Approval of the Fire Safety Rules in Forests of Ukraine.” The document clearly states that “the direct implementation of measures for forest fire protection, suppression, and accounting is assigned to permanent forest users.”
Currently, the largest forest user in Ukraine is SFE “Forests of Ukraine,” managing nearly 7 million hectares of forest area.
This means that SFE “Forests of Ukraine” is responsible for firefighting, while other structures may be involved, but the final responsibility for results lies with foresters.
These rules also require the enterprise to maintain a state fire protection system — essentially its own units based at forest fire stations or designated points equipped with the necessary firefighting equipment.
Forest users are also required to implement preventive measures, including establishing mineralized strips, maintaining forest roads in passable condition, and creating fire water reservoirs.
The required number of firefighting equipment and resources is defined by the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 612 of 20 May 2022 “On Approval of the Procedure for Forest Protection and Safeguarding.”
Based on these requirements, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” forms its plans for upgrading the material and technical base of forest fire stations and equipping relevant units.
Cooperation with the SES: why outsourcing is ineffective?
Resolution No. 612 also clarifies that the SES may be involved in firefighting only when a forest fire exceeds a “controlled situation” or there is a risk of it doing so. This may include large fire areas (over 5 hectares), rapid fire spread, difficult conditions (strong winds, heat, inaccessible terrain), lack of personnel or equipment, or threats to settlements, infrastructure, or human life.
Thus, the regulatory framework allows forest users to involve the SES in certain cases. However, this is only a right! The SES may not arrive even in large-scale forest fires, including those classified as emergencies. There are several reasons for this.
1.Long distance to the fire location
In 2017, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine issued the Order “On Approval of the Strategy for Reforming the System of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine.”
As a result, the main task of the SES became responding to large-scale emergencies.
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1269 of 16 December 2020 “On the Territorial Bodies of the State Emergency Service” changed the structure of the SES in accordance with the new division of districts introduced as a result of the administrative-territorial reform.
As a result, instead of approximately 500 district units, 136 remained within the SES. The distance from some remote forest areas to the nearest district department of the SES is many dozens of kilometers. Moving firefighting equipment over such a distance takes considerable time and involves significant costs.
2.Most SES fire engines need to be renewed
Ukrainian rescuers receive new equipment from international donors, but they often still use outdated vehicles, such as GAZ-66, ZIL-131 and Ural trucks.
These vehicles are known for their durability and ability to pass through areas where modern equipment sometimes cannot cope, especially off-road or in forests. At the same time, they are morally and technically outdated: they consume a lot of fuel, break down more often and do not develop high speed.
In real conditions, this means that fire engines move much more slowly than ordinary vehicles — on average about 35 km/h on highways, and even slower on forest roads. As a result, rescuers take longer to reach the site of a forest fire, and the area affected by the fire may increase significantly.
3.During the war, the priority of the SES is to eliminate the consequences of enemy shelling
During martial law, the priorities of the SES are regulated by the Code of Civil Protection of Ukraine, which defines the procedure for the actions of rescuers.
First of all, the SES focuses on clearing rubble after shelling, rescuing people, demining, and responding to the destruction of critical infrastructure. The SES becomes involved in extinguishing a forest fire, even if it has already reached the level of an emergency situation where the affected area exceeds 50 hectares, only when this does not interfere with the performance of its main tasks in areas exposed to combat-related risks.
In May last year, following a hit by an enemy guided aerial bomb in the frontline Borivske Forestry Management Subunit (lisnytstvo), a forest fire broke out. Due to dry, hot weather and strong winds, it reached an area of 110 hectares within a few hours. Foresters extinguished it using their own resources in almost a day.
“If we had waited for the rescuers, according to our estimates, the forest fire would have covered more than 1000 hectares of forest,” recalls Oleksii Shapovalov, Assistant Head of the Iziumske Forestry Management Unit (nadlisnytstvo) of the branch “Slobozhanskyi Forest Office”.
4.SES outsourcing services are not designed for large forest fires and are too expensive
Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 1102 of 26 October 2011 “Certain Issues of the Provision of Paid Services by Units of the State Emergency Service” allows rescue units to be engaged on a paid basis.
This concerns functions that are not related to emergency response. These may include both precautionary or preventive measures, as well as the use of equipment for extinguishing or preventing fires at specific sites, for example during works in forests or at logging sites.
Theoretically, rescuers could also be engaged, for a separate fee, to extinguish a small forest fire. SFE “Forests of Ukraine” has already considered this option. However, the key question is whether it would be cheaper than making its own investments.
Example of calculating the cost of an SES response to a forest fire covering 0.03 hectares.
Responding to such a fire would require one fire engine with five rescuers, who would have to travel about 100 km in total, both ways.
The average speed of GAZ-66, ZIL-131 and Ural trucks on highways is 35 km/h. Therefore, the journey alone takes almost three hours, with another two hours needed for the actual firefighting. In total, this means almost five hours of work, 83 liters of fuel consumed, and a full tank of water. Altogether, the cost exceeds UAH 20000.
“The area affected by last year’s fires was approximately 6,000 hectares, most of which occurred in frontline areas. SES services would have cost us more than UAH 3 billion,” says Mykola Hontaruk, Deputy Director of the Department of Forestry of SFE “Forests of Ukraine.”
Local community fire units: misplaced expectations
According to the Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On Approval of the Strategy for Reforming the System of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine,” firefighting functions in territorial communities should be transferred to local fire protection units and volunteer fire brigades.
However, a significant number of communities do not have the financial resources to fully maintain fire units and equipment.
During the war, financial resources are directed toward defence. Many men have been called up for service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and there is currently simply no one to fill positions in local fire protection units.
Formally, the requirement exists; in practice, in many communities it has not been implemented.
Investments of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” in fire safety: what is planned for this year
This year, the enterprise plans to purchase:
16 modern large-capacity fire engines of Ukrainian production;
2,000 fire hoses and more than 100 nozzles;
approximately 700 backpack sprayers;
dozens of forest firefighting modules.
Over the past two years, as a result of reorganization and structural simplification, the company’s workforce has decreased by nearly 10% and currently stands at 21.5 thousand employees. The reductions primarily affected administrative positions, including a large number of managerial roles in forestry enterprises.
In 2024, 28% of the payroll fund in the forestry sector was spent on maintaining administrative personnel. Today, this figure has been reduced to just 17%. Last year alone, nearly half a billion hryvnias were saved on management salaries.
The additional funds have been redirected to increase wages for production staff working directly in the forest. Employee motivation has improved, the outflow of specialists has stopped, and young professionals have started joining the company.
Particular attention was given to low-resource regions in the south and east, where forestry workers previously received very low wages. Currently, pay levels across the company have been equalized and now depend on the volume of work performed rather than the value of local resources.
As of Q1 2026, the average salaries in the branches of SE “Forests of Ukraine” are as follows:
• Forester — UAH 46,500
• Assistant Forester — UAH 38,300
• Forest Ranger — UAH 33,500
• Logging Operations Supervisor — UAH 35,800
• Timber Transport Driver — UAH 41,000
• Tractor Operator — UAH 36,500
• Feller — UAH 39,700
• Logger — UAH 31,600
The increase in the payroll fund for production staff has led to a rise in the company’s average salary from UAH 24,000 in 2024 to UAH 38,000 in 2026.
Over the past week, Telegram channels and media outlets have been spreading publications about the alleged critical condition of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” due to multi-billion debt. This narrative has been fabricated by individuals who fail to understand that at the end of each quarter the enterprise accrues significant tax liabilities — VAT, corporate income tax, and a share of net profit — which are paid in the following reporting period.
In particular, in the first quarter of 2026, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” transferred UAH 4 billion to the state budget.
The enterprise also has current obligations to contractors for work completed over the past month, including logging, transportation, and related services. These obligations are fulfilled on time: SFE “Forests of Ukraine” has no overdue payables to its counterparties.
As of January 1, 2026, the company’s financial stability ratio (equity / long-term and current liabilities) stood at 1.72. This is an exceptionally strong indicator, demonstrating the enterprise’s independence from external financial support.
The company fulfilled 98% of its contractual obligations for timber supply in the first quarter, excluding cancellations initiated by buyers themselves.
Today, SFE “Forests of Ukraine” is an example of highly stable operations and a responsible approach to fulfilling its obligations to clients and partners.
All other claims in the mentioned publications are equally false and absurd. These materials show clear signs of being commissioned, are distributed solely for money, and are part of a coordinated PR campaign
SFE “Forests of Ukraine” continues its Memorial Forests initiative — a living tribute to our colleagues who gave their lives for Ukraine.
Before being mobilized, Ruslan Balia worked as a forest ranger in the Chalivske forestry in the Poltava region. He dedicated nearly 20 years to forestry. A true professional, he deeply loved his work and knew every part of the forest under his care. The forest was his calling.
In 2024, he joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He served as a grenadier in an assault unit and held the rank of junior sergeant. On January 8, 2025, he was killed in action.
Memorial Forests are places of silence and gratitude — living symbols of remembrance for those who fought and died for Ukraine’s independence. Every tree planted carries the memory of a person who lived for the forest and gave their life for their country.
To honour Ruslan Balia, his wife and sons, Head of SFE “Forests of Ukraine” Yurii Bolokhovets, students of Tereshky Lyceum, colleagues, demobilized employees, and representatives of the Ukrainian Foresters’ Union gathered to plant this symbolic forest.
In the Chalivske forestry, where Ruslan worked, foresters planted pine, birch, and viburnum seedlings across 1.2 hectares.
This spring, Memorial Forests are being created across all regions of Ukraine:
In the Rivne region — in Kostopil forestry — a Memorial Forest was planted in honour of fallen colleague Vadym Pliushch, who worked as a forestry engineer and was deeply dedicated to his profession.
In the Zhytomyr region, a Memorial Forest honours forester Valerii Zander. It was planted in the Zvyahel forestry — the area that suffered the greatest losses among forestry workers.
In the Chernivtsi region, a Memorial Forest was created in memory of Oleksandr Storonskyi, who defended Ukraine for two years in the most intense combat zones.
In southern Ukraine, in the Zahradiivske forestry (Kherson region), a Memorial Forest honours forester-hero Vladyslav Vasylychenko. This site has become a symbol of renewal — where there was once war, new life is now growing.
In the Chernihiv region, a Memorial Forest was dedicated to our colleague Andrii Trykhlib, who was killed in December 2023 defending Ukraine.
The planting of Memorial Forests continues, and soon the updated map of these forests will be available. More information about the project can be found on our website.
We create these forests so that memory lives not only in words, but in the land, in the trees, and in the silence of the forest. So that every seedling reminds us: the price of our freedom is the lives of people who were part of one great forestry family.
A forest restoration event took place in the Novosanzharske forestry of State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” aimed at recovering areas affected by a large-scale natural disaster. The tree planting brought together company employees, the Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Vitalii Diakivnych, the State Emergency Service team in the Poltava region, members of the local community, and students from a school forestry unit.
During the event, participants also reviewed new specialized equipment purchased by State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” to strengthen wildfire protection: a new fire truck, an all-terrain pickup equipped with a firefighting module, and a tractor with a plow for creating firebreaks.
The Head of State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” Yurii Bolokhovets, recognized forestry workers and firefighters who were the first to respond and defend the forest.
As a reminder, in September 2024, the Poltava region faced the most масштабний forest fire in recent years, which was classified as an emergency situation. The fire damaged 2,670 hectares of forest plantations in the Malopereshchepynske and Novosanzharske forestries. More than 430 personnel and 85 units of equipment were involved in firefighting efforts.
“We fought the fire for more than 12 days. The area of spread kept increasing and became more complicated due to weather conditions and strong winds, which caused crown fires. Thanks to the coordinated work of our rescuers and foresters, we managed to extinguish this large-scale fire,” said Serhii Slavko, Deputy Head of the State Emergency Service in the Poltava region.
Large-scale forest restoration will begin in autumn 2026 after the completion of the environmental impact assessment procedure. Currently, State Enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” is carrying out localized restoration on areas up to 1 hectare.
Instead of monocultures, participants planted a mixed forest on the site, including Scots pine seedlings with a closed root system and common oak. In the future, this will help grow forests that are more resistant to fires and pests.
Overall, full restoration of all burned areas is planned to be completed over the coming years.
