In Kyiv, a fire in the Osokorky Ecopark that occurred on the evening of March 5 destroyed 7% of the natural floodplain vegetation in the wet meadows of the Osokorky Meadows local nature reserve.
The damage caused by the fire reached 500 thousand hryvnias, the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Capital District reports on Facebook.
It is noted that environmental inspectors found four fires destroyed by the fire with an area of 18.8 thousand m2, 44.5 thousand m2, 7.1 thousand m2, and 33.7 thousand m2. The total area of burned vegetation reached 10.4 hectares.
The press service said that environmental inspectors will also calculate the amount of damage caused by the fire to the air.
"Law enforcement agencies continue to find out the reasons and look for those responsible for this fire. The eco-inspectors will calculate the damages and hand over the materials to the law enforcement agencies," the report says.
It is worth noting that the Kyiv City Prosecutor's Office has started a pre-trial investigation in criminal proceedings on the fact of the fire.
"All the circumstances of the event are being established, including the causes of the fire, possible persons involved in the commission of a criminal offense, as well as the damage caused to the objects of the nature reserve," the press service said.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, on Tuesday, March 5, a fire broke out in Kyiv's Osokorky Ecopark, covering about 3 hectares of reeds and grass in the Osokorky Meadows and Tyagle Lake reserves. Environmental activists suspect that the fire was caused by arson to expand the development.