Ukraine is speeding up the delivery of timber to the front line by any means possible, with the Zelenskyy government now investing in new procurement platforms that promise to deliver much-needed sawlog and lumber for military fortifications anywhere in Ukraine in days.
It comes just weeks after Ukrainian media revealed that inefficiencies and corruption plagued the country’s massive fortification programme after Martyna Bohuslavets, head of the Anti-Corruption Center Mezha, raised concern with366 million hryvnias (or US $9.2 million) in falsified contracts.
“We are working with the documents, but we realised that this is a very sensitive issue, as it concerns the supply of wood to the fortifications where the enemy is advancing,” Ms Bohuslavets said, adding that Russian armed forces are now crossing into Ukrainian occupied areas before armed troops have time to fortify the border.
Last week, Wood Central reported that more than 75,000 cubic metres of timber this year had been transported to the front line, with armed forces now using timber, concrete and steel to build more than 100,000 “dragons teeth” along a 2,000km border with Russia.
“In just a few days, the Professional Procurement team (responsible for managing the distribution of the timber) will roll out a new electronic catalogue to meet the needs of the military administrations,” according to Dmytro Solovei, the Deputy Director of Professional Procurement for Development. “We have significantly increased the range of timber and qualified suppliers and did everything possible to make procurement convenient and efficient.”
“In addition to timber, (the new platform) also sells drones, fuel, office equipment, and more,” Mr Solovei said, before adding that “our main goal in the rear is to provide the military with everything necessary and allow it to meet all their needs as quickly as possible.”
Earlier this week, Wood Central reported that ENGOs, led by the WWF, criticised the Zelenskyy government over a new policy that they claim will lead to the rapid escalation in logging in Ukrainian forests.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion, the conflict has drastically increased the relative value of forests’ previously under-utilised role in the national economy. “This is because Ukraine’s main industrial areas were located in occupied and fought-over territories…with forests, thankfully, largely located in the “safe” areas of Ukraine and thus remain a largely intact resource,” according to a report provided by the Basel Institute of Governance, published last year.
“Continued attacks on civilian infrastructure are creating a high demand for forest products to generate heat and be used in reconstruction efforts,” the report said, adding that “the Ukrainian Government has recognised the sector’s increased importance by creating a new state-owned enterprise, Forests of Ukraine – now the country’s largest entity.”
- Click on Wood Central’s special feature to learn more about Ukraine’s forests and its challenges during and after the conflict.
