The lawyer for the plant in Vyhoda requested a recess due to the criminal proceedings

The Belyaevsky District Court of Odesa Oblast adjourned the hearing of the lawsuit filed by the limited liability company “Zenit Plus” against Olena Tsurkan, a resident of the village of Vyhoda.

As an Intenta correspondent reported from the courtroom, the company’s attorney, Leonid Danilets, requested a recess at the very beginning to obtain and review the materials of the criminal case against the company, as well as the results of an inspection conducted at the company on October 21, according to his statement. The judge postponed consideration of this motion but proceeded with the hearing on the merits of the case. As a result, the attorney spent over an hour reading his own complaint aloud, reaching page 10, at which point the judge stopped him and called a recess.

The inspection of the premises took place pursuant to a court order dated September 30 as part of criminal proceeding No. 42023160000000153, which was initiated on May 3, 2023. At that time, the court granted investigators and prosecutors permission to inspect the enterprise’s premises, including non-residential buildings, capital and non-capital structures, basements, and adjacent areas, in order to document the cement production process and determine its compliance with the requirements of current environmental protection legislation.

“Zenit Plus” Trading House LLC is suing Olena Tsurkan in the Bilyayivsky District Court of the Odesa Region, allegedly for spreading false information that damages the company’s business reputation.

Olena Tsurkan herself noted that she does not understand why the lawsuit was filed specifically against her, since the complaints from the villagers were collective. 

“There were collective complaints backed up by photos and videos with dates. It’s unclear why they’re suing me. From 2011 to 2025, they didn’t have a single document, but now they have everything,” emphasized Olena Tsurkan.

The next court hearing is scheduled for December 18 at 2:30 p.m. 

In November 2024, the Center for Public Interest Research (CPIR) published a report on a mineral powder production plant located inthe village of Vyhodain the Odesa district. Journalists visited the site and spoke with residents—about ten people attended the meeting and confirmed the words of local activistOlena Tsurkan: the plant has been ruining their lives for years.

In the fall of 2023, the State Environmental Inspectorate of the Southwestern District determined that the plant lacked an environmental impact assessment report, and that samples showed concentrations of harmful emissions exceeding permissible limits, prompting the agency to issue a corrective order. However, in 2024, the Department of Ecology and Natural Resources of the Odesa Regional State Administration not only failed to shut down the plant but also allowed it to expand its production capacity.

In November 2025, the plant’s attorney,Leonid Danilets, senta complaint to the Center for Policy Research demanding that the material be removed, arguing that “the activities of Zenit Plus Trading House LLC will not have a negative impact on the natural environment and will not lead to a deterioration in the living conditions of the local population.” In doing so, they cited the findings of an independent laboratory dated October 2, 2025.

The Center for Public Investigations denied their request, and in June 2026, the Commercial Court of Odesa Oblast completely dismissed the lawsuit filed by “Zenit Plus” Trading House LLC against the public organization “Center for Public Investigations.”

Кирило Бойко