Looting Of Askania-Nova Reserve Constitutes Part Of War Crime - Prosecutors

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) Hennadii Znakhorenko, Head of the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor's Office of the Kherson Regional Prosecutor's Office, said this in an interview with Ukrinform.

“This is one of the most significant environmental protection cases since the beginning of the full-scale war,” he emphasized.

Znakhorenko recalled that on April 6, 2026, the Velyka Oleksandrivka District Court of the Kherson region issued a trial in absentia against Dmytro Meshcheriakov, whom the occupation authorities had appointed as the“head” of the seized institution. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison with confiscation of property for collaboration and violations of the laws and customs of war committed by a group of persons acting in prior collusion. The court also granted a claim for compensation of more than UAH 85 million in damages.

The investigation established that the convicted man, together with representatives of the occupation administration, organized the illegal removal of rare and endangered animal species to the Russian Federation and temporarily occupied Crimea.

“In fact, the court recognized that the looting of a protected natural heritage site under occupation constitutes part of a war crime. This is an important precedent for further bringing to justice those involved in the destruction and illegal exploitation of natural resources in occupied territories,” Znakhorenko said.

In the Kherson region, 16 environmental criminal offenses were recorded during the first half of 2026; 12 indictments were submitted to the courts, and three convictions have already been handed down. Since the beginning of the year, 11 criminal proceedings have been registered under Article 438 of the Criminal Code in connection with crimes that caused damage to the natural environment. Overall, this year prosecutors have provided procedural guidance in 38 criminal proceedings involving 120 offenses committed by the armed forces of the aggressor state against peace, human security and the international legal order in the environmental sphere.

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As reported by Ukrinform, more than 6,300 hectares of the territory of the occupied Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve have burned since June 22, including nearly 4,300 hectares of protected steppe.

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