Foresters and volunteers from Latvia joined Ukrainian colleagues in the Holoby community of Volyn Oblast to establish an international "Forest of Remembrance" dedicated to Bohdan Kostiuchyk, a power engineer at the Kovel Forestry Enterprise, and all foresters killed as a result of the war, Volyn Regional Military Administration head Roman Romaniuk reported.
How the forest was laid
The planting took place on the territory of the Holoby territorial community in Kovel district, with participation from foresters of the state enterprise Lisy Ukrainy, their Latvian counterparts, Latvian volunteers, and Ukraine's Deputy Foreign Minister Oleksandr Mishchenko.
"On the territory of the Holoby TH of Kovel district, together with foresters of SE Lisy Ukrainy, their colleagues from Latvia, Latvian volunteers, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Oleksandr Mishchenko, we laid a forest of remembrance in honour of the power engineer of the Kovel forestry of SE Lisy Ukrainy, who was killed as a result of enemy shelling, as well as all fallen forester-soldiers," Romaniuk said.
According to Romaniuk, the forest was planted with pine and oak. Two additional trees — a guelder rose and a linden — were planted separately to represent Ukraine and Latvia.
A similar memorial forest is due to appear in Latvia next week, Romaniuk said. Volyn foresters will travel there to establish another commemorative forest together with their Latvian colleagues.
The forester being honoured
According to the Polissia Forestry Office, the "Forest of Remembrance" was planted in honour of forester-soldier Bohdan Kostiuchyk, who was killed on 28 June 2023 during enemy shelling.
As Ukrinform reported previously, the State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine restored 25,900 hectares of forests in 2025, exceeding the planned figure by 6.2%.
