The destruction of the “Kozatski Maidany” botanical nature monument in the Cherkasy region is ongoing. This protected area consisted of two burial mounds (kurgans) and a steppe plot located between them. Since 2017, the entire territory, except for the kurgans, has been plowed. Now, the mounds themselves have been affected, with one of them set on fire.
Whether the fire was a deliberate act of arson is unknown to us. However, it is concerning that the stubble in the surrounding field remained untouched, even though the fire should have spread further.
Kurgans in the middle of a field are unique oases of life surrounded by plowed land. They preserve rare vegetation, including species from the Red Book of Ukraine, such as hairy feather grass (Stipa capillata) and horned iris (Iris sintenisii). The complete destruction of these isolated natural fragments by fire is especially damaging, as it will be much more difficult for plants and animals to recover—they have nowhere to come from.
The possibility of arson is also supported by the fact that none of the government agencies took proper action to stop the illegal plowing of the nature monument in the first place.
Neither the Commission for Certification of Land Management Engineers nor the State Service of Ukraine for Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre (Derzhheokadastr) noticed the absence of the kurgans and protected area in the land documentation or the changes made to the documents “retroactively.” The Kamianka Amalgamated Territorial Community (OTG) and the State Environmental Inspectorate also chose to ignore the issue.
