In the Sumy region, state-owned forestry enterprises sold timber to companies owned by the head of the regional council at half the usual price
Wood processing companies linked to Oleksiy Romanenko, the head of the Sumy Regional Council, could have reaped tens of millions of hryvnias in profits in 2025–2026 through the purchase of timber at artificially low prices. This is according to an investigation by Informator.ua.
According to the journalists, companies linked to the official’s family purchased over 50,000 cubic meters of forest products from municipal agroforestry enterprises at prices that were nearly half the market rate. According to the authors’ estimates, this scheme may have cost the Sumy Regional State Forestry and Hunting Agency 43.4 million hryvnias.
This is detailed in an investigation by Informator.ua.
One of the key figures in the investigation is identified as the private enterprise “ZAVOD ‘SATEL’,” which, according to journalists, Oleksiy Romanko transferred to his niece, Nataliia Romanko. The company purchased timber from the Hlukhiv and Shostka agroforestry enterprises, which are part of “Sumyoblagrolis.”
As noted in the report, round pine timber at state forestry auctions cost the company an average of 3,500 UAH per m³, while municipal agroforestry enterprises sold it for approximately 1,700 UAH per m³. A similar situation existed with firewood for industrial use: on the exchange, its price ranged from 1,600 to 3,600 UAH per cubic meter, while the agroforestry enterprises sold the product for 600–800 UAH per cubic meter.
Journalists also link the company “LISEXPORT PLUS” to the family of the regional council chairman. It is known that since 2021, the company’s director has been the official’s wife, Anna Romanenko, who at that time went by the surname Shkalaberd. Additionally, according to his 2025 declaration, Oleksiy Romanko uses a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado owned by this company.
According to the authors of the investigation, between 2025 and 2026, PP “LISEXPORT PLUS” purchased 45,000 m³ of timber from agricultural forestry enterprises at an average price of 1,500 UAH per m³. The difference between the purchase prices and market rates, according to journalists’ calculations, could have amounted to nearly 34.5 million UAH.
Another company linked to the Romanenko family’s business circle is “KRONA PIVNICH” LLC. The nominal owner of the firm is Andriy Krush, who is also the beneficiary of “FENIKS-22” Hunting Grounds LLC. Until early 2025, this company belonged to the brother of the regional council chairman, Oleksandr Romanenko.
According to journalists, over the past two years, “KRONA PIVNICH” LLC has purchased 4,500 cubic meters of timber from “Sumyoblagrolis.” The average purchase price in 2025 was 1,600 UAH per m³, while similar products from state forestry enterprises cost around 2,500 UAH per m³. The company’s estimated profit, according to the authors’ calculations, amounted to 6.2 million UAH.
The investigation paid special attention to personnel decisions at “Sumyoblagrolis.” It is noted that one of Oleksiy Romanenko’s first decisions as head of the regional council was to appoint regional council deputy Serhiy Ishchenko as the company’s director. Prior to this, Ishchenko worked as a foreman at the Hutyansky State Forestry Enterprise in the Kharkiv region, which was headed by Viktor Sysa, whom the media had previously identified as one of the region’s leading “black loggers.”
The authors of the investigation called on law enforcement agencies to pay attention to the enterprise’s activities.
“We hope that the BEB, SBU, DBR, and NABU will pay attention to the situation surrounding ‘Sumyoblagrolis,’ which today is, in essence, privatized and operates to enrich certain representatives of the regional authorities. The estimated amount of losses incurred by the municipal enterprise is based on official public data. Therefore, the fact of embezzlement of community funds on an especially large scale (which falls under Part 5 of Article 191 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine) can be confirmed by any forensic examination,” the journalists’ report states.
As a reminder, the director of a private company accused of fraud and official forgery during the supply of equipment to the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” will stand trial in Kyiv.
Ihor Litsur, the executive director of the state-owned enterprise “Forests of Ukraine,” declared an annual salary of nearly 19 million hryvnias, as well as significant additional income and cash savings. At the same time, his declaration includes real estate purchased at prices that differ significantly from market rates. Separately, the official was previously suspected of official negligence.
