A resident of the village of Shmankivtsi filed a complaint with the Chortkivskyi Police Department after chemical treatment of the fields of an agricultural company in the Ternopil region poisoned plants on a private plot and caused health problems. Doctors diagnosed the man with acute poisoning and referred him to the hospital's intensive care unit for treatment.
During an investigation into the agroholding's activities, police discovered that over the course of three days, the infamous Mriya company used an airplane to spray its sunflower fields with chemicals to accelerate the ripening and growth of the crop.
Law enforcement officials discovered that Mriya's farmers had grossly violated safety regulations during this work. They sprayed crops with chemicals inappropriately close to a populated area and failed to notify the village council three days before the dangerous spraying.
Many village residents complained of feeling unwell and generally unwell during this agricultural work. Experts took soil and plant samples from the scene to test them for pesticides.
The extent of the damage is currently being determined by a special commission, comprised of experts and representatives of local governments. Law enforcement officials are thoroughly investigating all the circumstances of the crime.
A criminal case has been opened under Part 1 of Article 239 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine—pollution or damage to land with substances harmful to human life, health, or the environment, due to a violation of special regulations, if this created a danger to human life, health, or the environment, the communications department of the Main Directorate of the National Police of Ternopil Oblast reported.
MP Oleh Barna confidently places full responsibility for the crime on the scandalous Mriya agricultural holding:
The Chertkovsky District has been severely damaged by the Mriya Agroholding. Their pesticide spraying has damaged crops in village residents' fields, and there has also been a large-scale wave of poisonings and serious respiratory damage in children and adults.
Yesterday, I organized a community meeting attended by representatives of the State Emergency Service, the Sanitary and Epidemiological Service, and doctors. Officials will work to help people, collect evidence, and conduct an expert assessment. We will fight for compensation for the damage caused by Mriya Agroholding. This is yet another example of how "outsiders" and landowners have no place on our land, the DOBA website quotes Oleg Barna as saying.
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