President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, during his speech at the G20 summit, presented Ukraine's proposals that need to be implemented for a speedy and fair end to the aggressive Russian war.
He called ecocide and the need for immediate protection of nature one of the ten challenges for the whole world, the President of Ukraine's website reports about it.
He noted that due to Russian shelling, millions of hectares of forest were burned, and about 200,000 hectares of territories were contaminated with unexploded mines and shells.
Zelensky also stressed that dozens of coal mines were flooded, including the Yunkom mine in the Donetsk region, where an underground nuclear explosion was carried out in 1979.
“It is in Russian-occupied territory. It has been flooded for several years precisely because of the invaders. Although everyone in Moscow knows what a threat this is not only to the rivers in the Donetsk region, but also to the Sea of Azov, and consequently, to the Black Sea basin. Only the de-occupation of our territory can create conditions to remove this threat," he said.
Zelensky noted that it is impossible to accurately calculate the amount of air pollution from burned oil depots and other fires. As well as damage from blown up buildings, burned chemical plants, burial places of dead animals.
He stressed that as a result of Russian aggression, 6 million farm animals and about 50 thousand dolphins in the Black Sea were killed. In addition, thousands of hectares of land are polluted with harmful substances, most of which were fertile soils.
“Last week at the climate summit in Egypt, I proposed the creation of a platform for assessing the environmental damage from war. Must implement this. We must also find common answers to all the environmental threats created by the war. Without this, there will be no return to a normal, stable life, and the echo of the war will persist for a long time – in mine explosions that will take the lives of children and adults, in the pollution of water, soil and atmosphere," Zelensky said.
He also noted a significant need for funds and technologies for the rehabilitation of wastewater treatment plants.
"This is not just a Ukrainian problem. This is a challenge for the whole world," the President of Ukraine stressed.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wote, that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky during his speech at COP27 said that there can be no effective climate policy without peace.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, near Donetsk in the occupied territory destroyed part of the storage of radioactive waste and sawed the tanks for scrap.
