The Ukrainian animal rights activists of the UAnimals team call on foreign states, international public organizations and eco-activists to join forces in order to bring the Russian Federation to justice for ecocide in Ukraine and to restore the environment after the war, in particular with the help of reparations.
A corresponding petition on the global platform of public companies Change.org scored 21,794 signatures and soon, most likely to become one of the most followed on the platform.
"The full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine led to severe ecological destruction. Russia staged military ecocide and by its actions caused mass destruction of animal and plant life, poisoning of the atmosphere and water resources," the petition reads.
Animal rights activists emphasized that during the 8 months of full-scale war, according to the State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine, the aggressive actions of the Russian troops led to the fact that:
- 182,880 m2 of soil is contaminated with harmful substances;
- 2,365,129 m2 of land is littered with the remains of destroyed objects and ammunition;
- 680,618 tons of petroleum products were burned during the shelling, which resulted in significant air pollution;
- 23,286 hectares of forest were burned by rockets or shells - it will take at least 10 years to restore part of the forest area.
- 7,155,689 m2 of objects were destroyed, including critical infrastructure, which also caused significant damage to Ukraine's environment.
They also added that currently 20% of nature conservation areas of Ukraine are affected by the war. 8 nature reserves and 12 national natural parks are under occupation. Almost 80% of the territory of the "Holy Mountains" national park has been destroyed, and there is a humanitarian crisis in the occupied "Ascania Nova". According to Ukrainian ecologists, it may be about the destruction of hundreds of thousands or even millions of wild animals. In addition, more than 6 million domestic animals died from Russian aggression.
The authors noted that the Black Sea is also suffering from the war. Thus, in April, Ukrainian scientists discovered more than 1,000 km2 of a layer of oil and oil products on its surface, which appeared as a result of the activities of Russian aircraft and warships. And the sonar of military ships led to the death of at least 50 thousand Black Sea dolphins on the coasts of Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria and Turkey.
"Russia, by causing colossal damage to the ecosystem of a sovereign state, violates the basic four Geneva Conventions from 1949 and the three Additional Protocols to them, which regulate the behavior of the parties during a military conflict. Russia (as a signatory) also violates the UN Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Influence on the Natural Environment (ENMOD)," animal rights activists emphasized.
They also added that the seizure of the Zaporizhzhya NPP, the accumulation of heavy weapons there, strikes from the buildings of the critical facility, as well as the closed repair work, in which Ukrainian nuclear scientists and representatives of the IAEA are not involved, creates a potential radioactive threat for the whole of Europe.
According to Ukrainian ecologists, in the event of an explosion, the area of the potential exclusion zone will be up to 30,000 km2.
"UAnimals calls on the European Parliament, the United Nations, the parliaments of partner countries, international organizations and institutions to condemn Russia's actions, to help stop environmental crimes, to introduce additional sanctions against the Russian Federation, to help restore the ecological security of Ukraine and its environment, and to help in the renewal of the Ukrainian ecosystem during the war and in the post-war period, in particular, using the instrument of reparations," the petition says.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that singer Tina Karol and the animal rights activists of the UAnimals association presented an updated version of the world-famous "Schedryk" (Carol of the Bells), which tells about the ecocide of the Russian Federation in Ukraine.
As EcoPolitic previously reported, on Arabatskaya Streltka (Genichesky district, Kherson region), the Russian occupiers made a military training ground where, as part of "training" red-listed birds are shot.
