The ERC found out how a cement plant in Vyhoda can pollinate villagers with impunity

For more than a decade, residents of Vyhoda village in Odesa region have been trying to force the management of a cement plant operating within the village to reduce the amount of harmful emissions into the air, as fine dust and emissions pose an environmental threat to both the environment and human health.

The Centerfor Public Investigations investigated how the plant manages not only to ignore complaints from local residents but also to expand production.

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The plant in the village of Vyhoda, Odesa district, was built in 2013. The permit for the long-term lease of a land plot to Zenit Trading House LLC for the construction of a slag-portland cement production complex at 35 Zaliznychna Street was approved by the then deputies of Vyhoda village council chaired by Vasyl Ripak in late 2012. Later, they sold the 1.33-hectare plot to Torhovyi Dom. The plant is now operated by a subsidiary of Trade House Zenit Ltd, Trade House Zenit Plus LLC.

Since then, local residents have been complaining about the plant's environmental pollution. The villagers appealed for help to both the previous head of Odesa Regional State Administration, Maksym Marchenko, and the current head, Oleh Kiper, but they failed to help. Attempts to appeal to the capital were also unsuccessful, because from there, the beneficiaries' appeals are "passed on" to the local authorities of Odesa region, and everything repeats again. The locals also appealed to the Ombudsman. They were told that the information was being verified.

Photo: CPR

The State Ecological Inspectorate responded to CPR's request by saying that in 2023, environmentalists issued an order according to which Zenit Plus Trading House LLC had to eliminate the concentration of harmful emissions. However, the inspectorate did not receive any letters to fulfill the requirements of the order. Therefore, from August 21 to September 3, 2024, the inspection again conducted an unscheduled state supervision event. They explained that they can only measure emissions when the production process is in progress. But the plant has recently been operating at night instead of during the day.

The cement plant during the day

The same plant at night

Despite the fact that last year 34 people signed an appeal to the Department of Ecology in which they protested the activities of the cement plant, the department allowed the expansion of the company's production capacity.

Zenit Trading House LLC was registered in 2011 in Odesa. In 2013, the company was re-registered in Vyhoda village at 35 Zaliznychna Street. The company is mainly engaged in the production of cement. The owners of the company are Ihor Handusenko, a resident of the village of Limanka (who owns 90% of the LLC), and Serhii Obertun, a resident of the city of Balta (who owns 10% of the LLC). In 2016, Ihor Khandusenko registered Zenit Plus Trading House LLC at the same address in the village of Vyhoda. This company is already fully owned by him, and Serhii Obertun is only acting as a director.

According to the register of declarations, Ihor Khandusenko is probably the father of Dmytro Khandusenko, Deputy Head of the Southern Office of the State Audit Service. First, a man with the same name as the plant owner allowed the official to use his Range Rover for free, and in May of this month, he even gave him the car.

Also, according to the declarations, before joining the State Audit Service, Dmytro Khandusenko worked for the tax authorities in Odesa.

The company cooperates with the Road Construction Company Dorservice LLC - the trucks of this company were spotted by the CPR on the territory of the plant. "Dorservis is owned by Maryna Amirkhanyan, a probable relative of Araik Amirkhanyan, a businessman against whom the National Security and Defense Council imposed personal sanctions in April 2021.

In July, a resident of Vyhoda village, located in Odesa district, complained to Intent.Insight during a regular episode about air pollution from a local cement plant and the inaction of the authorities.

Intent tried to clarify the situation, and the Center for Public Investigations joined in.

Кирило Бойко