Ukraine urges states to protect environment during wartime – Foreign Ministry

06.11.2020 14:49

Ukrinform

Ukraine keeps the issue of environmental protection in the temporarily occupied territories of Donbas and Crimea on the agenda of international organizations, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said in a statement on Facebook on the occasion of the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict.

According to the statement, during armed conflicts, due to shootings and explosions, the air is filled with toxic substances; methane is formed in flooded mines; groundwater and surface water is contaminated with radioactive waste; forests, ruthlessly used for fuel and buildings, are destroyed; fires rage, animals migrate, and the ecological situation deteriorates.

"All this is happening in Ukraine. Russia's armed aggression in Donbas and the temporary occupation of Crimea have been going on for seven years now. Therefore, we keep this issue on the agenda of international organizations and encourage states to implement international norms in this area," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.

Ukraine is also actively involved in the development by the UN International Law Commission of the principles of environmental protection in connection with armed conflicts.

According to the ministry, the issue of environmental consequences of the occupation of Crimea will also be in the focus of attention of the new international format of the response to the attempted annexation of Crimea - the Crimean Platform.