In 2022 and 2023, during the full-scale invasion, Ukraine lost forest cover over an area of more than 1579 km².
This figure is cited by Italian scientists in their study published in the scientific journal Global Ecology and Conservation.
They analyzed the state of the forests using remote sensing methods and artificial intelligence (AI), which scientists trained to identify deforested areas. The research was conducted using Landsat 8 satellite images and the Random Forest machine learning algorithm.
Results in numbers
Comparison of satellite images of the state of forests for 2022-2023 with data from 2021 revealed that the forest area has decreased
- in 2022 – by 807.56 km²;
- in 2023 – by 771.81 km².
At the same time, 65.8% of all forest losses occurred in the regions where hostilities are ongoing. According to the study, the most affected regions are:
- Kyiv region – 268.37 km² of forest was lost;
- Kherson region – 214.14 km²;
- Kharkiv region – 181.38 km²;
- Luhansk region – 195.4 km²;
- Donetsk region – 180.25 km².
Scientists showed the decrease in forest cover in each of the regions, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, in 2022 and 2023 on maps:
Source: sciencedirect.com.
Causes of deforestation
Scientists note that the main cause of deforestation was massive fires caused by shelling and explosions. In some regions, such as the Kherson region, forest ecosystems were also affected by the drought of 2022 and the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. As a result, large areas of floodplain forests along the Dnipro have disappeared.
The authors of the study emphasized that restoring forests after the war should be one of the priorities of Ukraine's environmental policy. They say that the loss of forests not only reduces biodiversity but also threatens food security and climate stability in the region.
The scientists called on international environmental organizations and governments to support Ukraine in the post-war restoration of its natural resources.
“The environmental consequences of war have no borders, and their elimination is a common task for the whole world,” they emphasized.
Recently, EcoPolitic reported that in 2024, war-related greenhouse gas emissions in Ukraine increased by 30%.
