The former head of the State Agency for Subsurface Resources of Ukraine has been hired by yet another government agency on a probationary basis
Taras Kuzmich, former chairman of NAK “Nadra Ukrainy,” has been appointed director of production efficiency at the state-owned specialized enterprise “Forests of Ukraine.”
These personnel changes are taking place against the backdrop of a large-scale corporatization of the forestry sector and a series of corruption scandals within the agency.
According to the document, Taras Kuzmich assumed his duties on June 18 of this year. The new position includes a three-month probationary period to assess the manager’s performance.
The appointment order was signed by Ihor Zubovych, chairman of the Transformation Commission, who served as Deputy Minister of Economy, Environment, and Agriculture from 2025 to 2026.
Starting July 1, Zubovych is set to officially become the acting director general of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine.”
These personnel changes coincided with the restructuring of the agency, which has been in the process of being dissolved since late September 2025.
This legal status marks the official start of the process of corporatizing the state forestry sector, which has long been in the works by the government and the State Forestry Agency.
The reform is intended to change the management system, but the state-owned enterprise regularly comes under scrutiny from law enforcement agencies.
Concurrently with the appointment, rumors began circulating online about a possible criminal investigation involving the newly appointed director.
Despite the public outcry, the Security Service of Ukraine did not confirm to journalists that the former head of “Nadra Ukraine” has the status of a suspect.
The official’s financial situation also raises questions, as he has avoided public reporting for years.
While heading NAK “Nadra Ukraine” from 2019 to 2025, Taras Kuzmich failed to submit any of the required declarations of assets and income. His most recent declaration on the NACP website dates back to 2019.
Kuzmich’s arguments boiled down to the fact that NAK “Nadra Ukrainy” is a legal entity governed by “private law” rather than public law. According to the top manager, this status supposedly exempts the company’s management from the mandatory declaration requirement.
This was reported by Glavkom.
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