War-related damage to Ukraine environment estimated at UAH1.9T

That’s according to the Minister for Environment Protection and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strelets, who spoke at the opening of an exhibition of children’s drawings "Environment and war through the eyes of children" on Wednesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

"Over almost a year since the full-scale invasion, together with the State Environmental Inspection, we have documented more than 2,300 cases of environmental impact, and have already recorded almost UAH 1.9 trillion in damages to the Ukrainian environment. There were no such losses in any war or armed conflict in the world. We still continue to evaluate the amount of damage, but I am convinced that this number will increase as hostilities continue," said Strelets.

He noted that the situation regarding a threat to the nuclear and radiation safety of Ukraine and Europe remains serious. Over the 35 days that the Chornobyl nuclear power plant was under Russian occupation, the Exclusion Zone has suffered UAH3.2 billion in direct damages.

The minister added that the Zaporizhia NPP is also currently under threat due to a dropping water level in the Kakhovka Reservoir.

"But not everything is so bad because the water level has been rising in recent days. Due to precipitation and melting snow, the reservoir is filling up naturally. However, it will be difficult to maintain this level if no measures are taken, and if the Russian military continues to drain it down," Strelets emphasized.

According to the Ministry, out of UAH 1.9 trillion in damages to the environment, the biggest losses come from air pollution (UAH 986 billion), soil pollution, the land being littered with waste (UAH 855 billion), and water pollution (UAH 57 billion).

The forest fund suffered large-scale destruction, too. Currently, 2.4 million hectares of forests and 24 forestry farms have been freed from occupation and need to be restored. Almost 500,000 hectares and 21 forestry areas remain occupied or are in the war zone, which is why they remain in danger.

In total, more than 20% of protected areas have been devastated by war, 812 protected areas are in danger, and almost 1 million hectares of protected areas are affected. Some 2.9 million hectares of the Emerald Network and almost 630,000 hectares of Ramsar sites are under threat of destruction. There are 10 national parks, eight reserves, and two biosphere reserves under Russia’s occupation.

According to the Ministry, about 600 animal species and nearly 750 plant and fungi species (some of which are in the Red Book and may be lost for good) are under threat. Since February 24, 120 dolphin deaths have been documented in the Ukrainian part of the Black Sea, of which at least 15 were cases of animals being washed ashore.

As a result of Russia’s armed aggression, more than 33 million tonnes of greenhouse gases were emitted. In fact, more than 23 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by fires as a result of the war. More than 16 million tonnes of emissions come from forest fires, 2.6 million tonnes – from fires at man-made sites, 4 million tonnes – from fires on agricultural fields, and 375,000 tonnes - from fires at other natural objects.

As reported, the executive vice-president of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, said that Russia should pay reparations for ecocide.