According to preliminary estimates, the environmental damage caused by the enemy attack on the oil depot in Kharkiv and the spill of 3,000 tons of fuel, including into rivers, is more than UAH 30 million.
Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets said this on the air of the national marathon "United News," the Ministry of Environment reports on Facebook.
He noted that as a result of the shelling of the oil depot on February 9, oil products polluted the rivers Udy, Lopan, Nemyshlya, and Kharkiv. The approximate area of the contaminated water surface is 780 thousand m2. To stop the spread of the oil slick, appropriate barriers were installed on the rivers.
"We have the first approximate estimates of damages from the pollution of water bodies. They amount to over 30 million hryvnias. For the final calculation, it is necessary to conduct a number of more studies, take samples and put this case in the general basket of crimes against the environment, which Russia commits on our territory," said Strelets.
He added that, according to Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, Ukraine first informed the Russian colonel-general and four of his subordinates about the suspicion of committing ecocide.
It is worth noting that the Kharkiv eco-activists noted the inefficiency of the booms on the Nemyshlia River, because a significant amount of oil seeps through them.
Kharkiv eco-activist Artem Prykhodko said that on the morning of Wednesday, February 15, activists, together with specialists of the State Fisheries Agency, are trying to stop oil slicks using an experimental method. They set up a barricade of hay bags in the narrow places of the river.
"The bags began to retain part of the fuel, and an oil stain formed around them. But, of course, the result is not 100% – the bags let oil products through," he said.
As EcoPolitic reported earlier, arkiv-based environmental activist Artem Prykhodko called on Ukraine to enlist the help of foreign partners to get about 28 tons of sorbents to clean up the rivers from oil pollution. As a result of the shelling of the oil depot, about 1500 tons of fuel got into the rivers, but the only Ukrainian manufacturer has only 2 tons of coal sorbent, which will help to collect only 100 tons of oil.
