Major illegal andesite mining operation uncovered near Uzhhorod
A regional council deputy has been implicated in an illegal mining operation (Photo: General Prosecutor's Office / Facebook)
Ukrainian authorities have uncovered an illegal andesite mining operation near Uzhhorod, Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced on August 17, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
The investigation identified four key suspects: a Zakarpattia Regional Council deputy, the mining company’s director, a chief engineer, and the head of a shell company used to distribute the stolen andesite.
The suspects identified in the investigation include:
- Mykhailo Laba: A Zakarpattia Regional Council deputy from the Servant of the People party, co-founder of KobaltumResursEksport LLC, and son of Ukrainian MP Mykhailo Laba
- Volodymyr Andriushchenko: The founder and director of KobaltumResursEksport LLC
- Oleksandr Klyn: The chief engineer of KobaltumResursEksport LLC
- Serhii Petruk: The director of BudTreidynh LLC, who was reportedly charged at the border while attempting to flee Ukraine
The prosecutor's office reported that the company received a permit in 2024 for geological exploration and pilot development of a 59-hectare deposit, but the exploratory phase illegally escalated into full-scale industrial production.
“Approximately 10 hectares of forest were cleared to operate the quarry, while forest land was illegally utilized to install 52 power transmission towers and 2.6 kilometers of electrical lines,” Kravchenko said. “Rock was quarried using explosives without the mandatory environmental impact assessment, with investigators recording at least 13 instances of drilling and blasting operations.”
In total, approximately 417,000 cubic meters of minerals were illegally extracted.
Kravchenko added that auditors uncovered further discrepancies during distribution. While tax reports documented the sale of over 774,000 tons of andesite, investigators discovered an additional 353,000 tons of unrecorded minerals worth approximately 247 million hryvnias ($5.5 million), which were allegedly sold for cash.
“Forensic examinations indicate the total damage to the state exceeds 949.8 million hryvnias ($23 million),” Kravchenko said. “During the investigation, law enforcement intercepted conversations between the suspects discussing how to continue quarrying despite the prosecutor's legal claims. They also mentioned the Temporary Investigative Commission of the Verkhovna Rada currently reviewing the site, and these actions will receive a formal legal assessment based on the evidence.”
All four suspects have been charged, and a court is currently considering pre-trial detention and other restrictive measures.
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