World Affairs Journal: Citizens derail oligarch’s mining plans in Kremenchuk

 Here’s more evidence busting the myth of Ukrainian passivity and indifference.

The residents of Kremenchuk, a city of 230,000 southeast of Kyiv on the Dnipro River, and its environs are up in arms over oligarch Kostyantyn Zhevago’s plans to build the Bilaniv Mining and Enrichment Combine (HZK) on the Psol River in Kremenchuk District. According to Zhevago’s plans (pdf [1]), about 12 villages comprising one fifth of the district’s territory would have to go to make room for the combine.

Besides opposing the displacement of thousands of villagers, the inhabitants of the region, together with community activists and scientists, fear an environmental catastrophe—ranging from the destruction of the Psol to massive air and water pollution to permanent changes in the area’s ecological balance. The specific bone of contention is the “Draft Plan of the Territory of Kremenchuk District” developed [2] by the Urban Construction Division of the local government, the Kremenchuk District Administration. The activists insist that it fails to safeguard the region’s environment and must be revised. The bureaucrats and Zhevago people say it’s fine.