Court cancels State Geology Service orders for Hennadii Butkevych's companies due to martial law

Court rulings in favour of mining companies

On 2 November, the Kyiv District Administrative Court issued rulings cancelling orders from the State Service of Geology and Subsoil of Ukraine (State Geology Service) addressed to LLC "Titan-Apatite Group" and LLC "CFR Group". These orders were issued following inspections conducted in March 2026. The audit of strategic and "dormant" subsoil deposits was carried out in fulfilment of a directive from Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

Cooperation between LLC "Titan-Apatite Group" and the regulator

LLC "Titan-Apatite Group" uses the Yurivska plot in Zhytomyr Oblast (titanium ores, primary apatite ilmenite, special permit No. 4998). The company acquired this permit at an online auction of the State Geology Service in 2019. The distance from the site to the border with the Republic of Belarus is approximately 9.6 km.

Inspectors recorded the failure to meet deadlines for a number of items in the work programme, as well as the non-submission of certain documents. However, before turning to the court, the company had filed objections to the inspection report and a complaint against the order. LLC "Titan-Apatite Group" disputed all accusations, citing a provision of the Code of Ukraine on Subsoil, which provides for the automatic extension of work completion deadlines during martial law.

The company emphasised that work at the deposit was complicated by objective factors: the full-scale war of Russia against Ukraine, threats to personnel, proximity to the Belarusian border, as well as prohibitions by the Zhytomyr Oblast Defence Council. Force majeure circumstances were confirmed by a Chamber of Commerce certificate. Court materials indicate that the company was not inactive: it carried out available work in stages under wartime conditions, adjusted the project, and conducted drilling and research. Failure to complete the full set of works is not equivalent to a refusal of the Programme, and documentation that could be processed was submitted to the State Geology Service.

The court noted that the deadline for the completion of none of the disputed stages fell before 24 February 2022. Therefore, the Service's arguments were rejected, and the order and the corresponding item in the decree on extending the deadline for eliminating violations were deemed unlawful and cancelled.

As stated in the court ruling: "…the violations specified in the Act were recorded by the defendant (State Geology Service – Ed.) unjustifiably and unlawfully, as the deadlines for performing work in accordance with the Work Programme fall within the period of the declared martial law in the country and during the period of martial law, which were automatically extended by the legislator".

Ruling regarding LLC "CFR Group"

LLC "CFR Group" uses the Yastrebitska plot of zircon-rare earth-fluorite ores in Zhytomyr Oblast (special permit No. 4999, also acquired at an auction in 2019). The distance to the border with Belarus is 11.4 km. The violations recorded by the inspection were similar to the case with "Titan-Apatite Group". None of the disputed stages of the work programme had a deadline for completion before 24 February 2022.

The company's argumentation was consistent: deadlines were automatically extended, security restrictions and force majeure prevented full use of the plot, part of the work was completed, and the submission of documents depended on the completion of previous stages of research.

LLC "CFR Group" carried out topographic works and hydrogeological studies, sample preparation, and geochemical and mineralogical analyses in an SGS Canada laboratory. The company was working on a report on the preliminary geological and economic evaluation (GEO-2), necessary for the start of design and the conduct of the Detailed Prospecting Report.

The court confirmed that the plaintiff uses the provision of Part 6 of Article 15 of the Code of Ukraine on Subsoil regarding the automatic extension of deadlines, takes measures to fulfil the Work Programme, and reports on their execution. The order and the corresponding item in the State Geology Service decree were cancelled.

Context and owners

The beneficial owner of both companies is Hennadii Butkevych, founder of BGV Group Management and co-owner of the ATB chain. Minority participants are Hero of Ukraine Oleksandr Nastenko and Vitaliy Yakymenko (father of Pavlo Yakymenko, head of the Subcommittee on the Protection and Rational Use of Subsoil of the Committee on Ecological Policy and Natural Resource Use of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine). Both companies are registered in Kyiv and are headed by Serhiy Troyan.

As of 2025, the companies of Hennadii Butkevych and his partners controlled 13 subsoil plots in Ukraine and initiated tenders for the conclusion of production sharing agreements at four uranium ore deposits. The flagship project of the BGV group at the Balakhivske graphite deposit (LLC "Rozvytok Pobuzzhya") was included in the list of strategic EU initiatives.

The State Geology Service order issued as a result of the spring inspections was also challenged by LLC "Perzhanska Rudna Company", which belongs to Hennadii Butkevych.

In October 2026, it became known that the American-Ukrainian Reconstruction Fund (URIF) approved the largest investment package to date in projects that meet the common interests of Ukraine and the USA. The creation of a joint investment platform of URIF and BGV Group Management is envisaged for the development of a portfolio of projects in the field of critical minerals. At the initial stage, the platform may invest up to 30 million dollars in the development programmes of individual projects, focusing on assets related to rare earth elements, beryllium, and zirconium.