Employees of the Askania-Nova Arboretum cannot freely visit most of the reserve

Most of theAskania-Novaarboretum in the occupied Chaplynska community of Kakhovka district on the left bank of the Kherson region is not accessible to employees.

According to Natalia Korinets, deputy director of the reserve, the employees do not know what is happening there because they are forbidden to walk on the territory of the arboretum.

"Until the 20th of October (probably 2022 - ed.), there were no Russian military in the reserve. The occupation Minister of Health from Crimea Mykola Bystryantsev visited the management, and they were constantly talking to us. Russians were looking for weapons and Russian deserters on the territory of the reserve," the woman said.

Now the reserve is located in the occupied territory, in the rear. The occupiers have established their pseudo-administration there. Almost 7,000 square kilometers of the reserve burned down during the occupation, including because of the war (whether it was an air force bomb or an air defense missile is not known for sure). It is also known that the occupiers stole 20 rare animals. Many animals die due to the negligence of the occupation pseudo-administration.

The so-called director of the F.E. Falz-Fein Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve , 48-year-old Dmytro Meshcheryakov, was served a notice of suspicion of violation of the laws and customs of war committed by a group of persons by prior conspiracy for the looting of the arboretum . According to the investigation, he kidnapped rare and endangered species of animals and transferred them to reserves located in Russia - the Rostovsky Nature Biosphere Reserve and the Steppe Wildlife Association. These animals include two individuals each of the Chapman's zebra, American bison, David deer, and Przewalski's horse. The latter are listed in the Red Book of Ukraine and are subject to special protection. The total amount of damage caused to the reserve amounted to over UAH 22 million.

Олеся Ланцман