May 21, 2025, 9:15 a.m.
(Photo: website of the Nature Reserve Fund of Ukraine)
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine has terminated the duties of the director of the Lower Dniester National Nature Park, Serhiy Kubyshko.
The corresponding order, signed on May 20, was made public by the acting director of the Tuzly Estuaries National Nature Park, Iryna Vykhrystyuk.
According to the document, starting May 21, Volodymyr Samusev, head of the park's recreation department, will temporarily act as the park's director. He will perform these functions until a new director is officially appointed in accordance with the established procedure or until another order of the Ministry.
The order was signed by First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection Svitlana Hrynchuk.
In her publication, Iryna Vykhrystiuk sharply criticized the decision of the Ministry of Environment, calling it unfair and non-transparent.
According to her, Serhiy Kubyshko learned about his dismissal not from the ministry, but directly from Samusev, even before the order was officially handed over. Vykhrystiuk notes that during Kubyshko's leadership, positive changes have taken place in the park, the work of the team has intensified, and the effectiveness of environmental protection measures has increased. She emphasized that he is a local resident, a specialist with specialized education and deep knowledge of the region.
At the same time, she questioned the professionalism of the new interim head, Samusev, who, according to her, had only been working in the park for five months, had no experience in the environmental sector, and had previously worked in law enforcement and the district state administration. He was allegedly hired on the recommendation of Dmytro Ivanov, the former director of the protected areas department of the Ministry of Environment.
"Because of the war, the environmental industry has lost a lot of specialists. Starting with the ministry itself, with the institutions of the nature reserve fund that came under occupation, and not only. The Ministry of Ecology has not taken any real steps to preserve its professional staff. This staffing crisis is only getting worse. There are a number of reasons for this. No one is working on them. We will not be able to recover for a long time. During this period, the institutions will be filled with random or "necessary" people for whom wildlife protection has not been and will not be a priority and motivation," Iryna Vykhrystiuk emotionally commented on the situation.
Ірина Глухова