The Dramatic Impact of Illegal Amber Mining in Ukraine’s Wild West
A chaotic scene in Ukraine has miners pitted against each other and the government, often with deadly consequences and significant environmental harm.
DubrovytsyaVlad’s black SUV softly crunched through the gravel in front of Dubrovytsya’s faded Polish Catholic church. The sound of circular saws echoed from inside, where workmen were restoring the 300-year-old rococo cathedral to its pre-Soviet glory—allegedly with money from the illicit amber trade. Stas, Vlad’s partner, parked his BMW a couple blocks away.
The former cops popped the trunk of Vlad’s 4x4 and he pulled out a shotgun. He grabbed a few shells and put the gun in the back of our truck. “We’re always armed when we go out,” said the illegal amber miner.
And for good reason—the town sits in the heart of Ukraine’s Wild West—the thousands of acres of ravaged pine and birch forests whose sandy soils hide millions
