Water extraction licenses denied to Morshynska producer over Russian ties

The Morshyn Mineral Water Plant "Oscar" may be forced to shut down six months after the end of martial law in Ukraine if it cannot renew its water extraction licenses, according to Markiyan Bem, the authorized representative of IDS Ukraine, the plant’s parent company.

Speaking at a roundtable on Thursday, Bem stated that the Morshyn plant currently holds two special permits for mineral water extraction, both of which have expired—one in May 2024, and the other in July 2024.

"Under one permit, the company was prepared to apply for a new special license. Under the other, we planned to amend and extend the existing one," Bem said.

However, renewal has become impossible due to the company’s ownership structure: more than 49% of IDS Ukraine is owned by sanctioned Russian nationals, including Mikhail Fridman and his associates.

For the duration of martial law, the plant is allowed to continue operations under the expired permits. But once martial law ends, the legal grace period will last only six months. After that, unless the licensing issue is resolved, the plant—which is fundamentally tied to water extraction—will be forced to shut down.

Bem criticized the legal restrictions as excessive and economically harmful.

"If martial law ends and we are still unable to obtain permits, our production capacity will be reduced by 50%. These two special permits account for half of IDS Ukraine's water resources. This would lead to a UAH 200 million drop in tax revenue and the dismissal of 30% of our workforce," he explained.

At the end of 2024, Ukraine’s Ministry of Justice filed a motion with the High Anti-Corruption Court to confiscate the corporate rights of all seven companies that make up the IDS Ukraine Group.