How 8 months of war affected Ukraine: the environmental consequences

How 8 months of war affected Ukraine: the environmental consequences shutterstock
Katerina Belousova

Part of Ukrainian forests is lost forever

During the 8 months of the full-scale invasion, eco-inspectors recorded and calculated quantitative indicators of environmental damage from pollution by hazardous substances, fires in forests and at oil depots, etc.

Currently, it is impossible to compile a complete list of damages, because every day experts inspect new objects and de-occupied territories, the State Inspectorate reports on Facebook.

The message emphasized that the war caused large-scale environmental changes that have an extremely negative impact on the natural environment not only of Ukraine, but also of Europe.

8 months of war led to the fact that:

  • 182,880 m2 of soil is contaminated with hazardous substances;
  • 2,365,129 m2 of land is littered with the remains of destroyed objects and ammunition;
  • 680,618 tons of petroleum products burned during the shelling, polluting the air with dangerous substances;
  • 23,286 hectares of forest were burned by rockets and shells, some of which, according to the most optimistic forecasts, will be restored within 10 years, the rest - lost forever;
  • 7,155,689 m2 of facilities, including critical infrastructure, were destroyed, and their remains caused damage to the environment.

Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that Yevgeny Fedorenko, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, said that in 8 months of full-scale invasion Russia has caused more than €37 billion in damage to Ukraine's environment.

As EcoPolitic previously reported, in the Sumy region, eco-inspectors calculated almost 140 million hryvnias in damages from the destruction of the road bridge by the Russian troops across the Psel River near the city of Lebedyn.

Related
Environmental crimes of the week: pollution worth 70 million UAH, compensation for damages, and deforestation
Environmental crimes of the week: pollution worth 70 million UAH, compensation for damages, and deforestation

Prosecutors are also continuing to return illegally seized forest and water lands to the state

New forests in areas where they could be destroyed by war: millions spent on trees in Donetsk Oblast
New forests in areas where they could be destroyed by war: millions spent on trees in Donetsk Oblast

As it turns out, the recovery and budget reporting programs have not existed for over four years

Oil and gas companies have cut spending on environmental projects by 30% over the past year
Oil and gas companies have cut spending on environmental projects by 30% over the past year

Analysts consider the U.S. government's consistent crackdown on the clean energy sector to be a key factor

Fines for water pollution and mismanagement of water bodies may increase in Ukraine
Fines for water pollution and mismanagement of water bodies may increase in Ukraine

If the bill is passed, the penalty for violating state property rights over water will be 5,100 UAH instead of the current 136 UAH