Briefing on the environmental damage caused by the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

In 500 days since the full-scale Russian invasion began, Ukraine has recorded about 2,500 cases of environmental damage estimated at over UAH 2 trillion (USD 56 bln).

The most affected regions are Donetsk, with over UAH 666 billion in damages, Luhansk (with UAH 477 billion), and Kharkiv, with over UAH 361 billion in damages.

These are not final figures, as the SEI experts cannot access occupied territories and can’t record and assess all environmental damage.

As Minister Ruslan Strilets noted: “Every day we lose people, resources, and natural wealth. Every day inspectors from the State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine record environmental destruction caused by hostilities. The numbers are horrifying. Today we have already recorded about 51 billion euros or 2 trillion hryvnias in environmental damage. This means that every day of the war costs Russia at least 102 million euros or 4 billion hryvnias in environmental damage. The assessment is ongoing. Russia will pay for every day of this war.”

Nuclear and radiation safety threats

According to Energoatom, despite the blowing up of the Kahovska Hydroelectric Power Station dam by Russian occupiers, the situation at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) remains under control. The radiation levels at the Zaporizhzhia NPP are within the permissible limits.

As of July 12, there is a slight decrease in the water level of the cooling pond, which currently stands at 16.47 meters. The water level in the canal of the thermal power plant, from where the cooling pond of the Zaporizhzhia NPP is replenished when necessary, is at 11.08 meters.

The units of the Zaporizhzhia NPP have been shut down since September 2022, so there is no active water evaporation from the cooling since then.

As long as the invaders remain at the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the threat persists. To ensure the safety of the entire continent, the largest nuclear facility in Europe must be de-occupied and brought back under the control of Ukraine as quickly as possible.

Recent attacks on infrastructure and industrial sites

On the night of July 6, Russia once again attacked Ukraine with missiles, hitting a multi-story residential building in Lviv within the buffer zone of a UNESCO World Heritage site. 35 buildings were damaged, 10 people were killed, and 42 were injured.

On July 7, Russian forces targeted an infrastructure object in Zaporizhzhia, resulting in a building fire.

On July 8, the Russians:

• attacked an agricultural enterprise in Kryvyi Rih and an infrastructure facility in the Kirovohrad region with drone strikes;
• shelled a residential area in Lyman, the Donetsk region, damaging a house and a store, and causing the death of 9 residents.

On July 10, the occupiers:

• launched ballistic missiles at Mykolaiv, damaging an infrastructure facility.
• attacked a school in Orikhiv, the Zaporizhzhia region, with a guided aerial bomb during the distribution of humanitarian aid, killing 7 civilians. During the rescue operation, the Russians cynically conducted another airstrike.

On July 11, Russian forces attacked a grain terminal in one of the ports in the Odesa region with drones. The debris from the downed drones caused a fire in two port terminals, including the grain terminal.On July 12, in the Cherkasy region, a Russian-launched drone hit a non-residential infrastructure facility, resulting in a fire at the site.Over the course of 500 days of full-scale war in Ukraine, the State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine has calculated the environmental damage and losses to the country's ecosystems. Specifically, in 500 days of the war, Russian shelling caused the burning of 708,000 tons of petroleum products, and forest fires destroyed 62,700 hectares of forests.

Pollution caused directly by hostilities

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, to 12 July, 2023, 410,597 explosive objects were neutralized on the territory of Ukraine. An area of 912 square kilometers has been surveyed.

According to the Government of Ukraine, as of today, more than one-third of the agricultural land designated for priority return to economic use has been surveyed for mines.

According to the regional authorities, last week alone, sappers surveyed over 3,500 hectares of agricultural land in 4 regions of Ukraine. Specifically, in the Kharkiv region, 135 hectares of agricultural land were surveyed, in the Chernihiv region - 393 hectares, in the Mykolaiv region - 1,019 hectares, and in the Kherson region - 1,968 hectares. In total, over 160,000 hectares of agricultural land have been surveyed since the beginning of the year out of the designated 470,000 hectares prioritized for demining.

The Ukrainian government is working on strengthening the capacities of demining operators. This includes accelerating the pace of surveying and demining territories through the use of demining machinery and modern surveying technologies.

The Russian war against Ukraine has impacted global climate security. This issue became the main topic of discussion at the OSCE Climate Change Conference in Vienna.

"By reading climate reports and observing the situation in Ukraine, the international community understands that Russia is not only waging war against Ukraine but also against the civilized world as a whole. No country will not be affected by the climate impact of Russian aggression. Democratic states are investing millions of dollars in achieving climate neutrality, and Russia undermines the efforts of all those for whom combating climate change is a priority, with its missiles and ammunition," - said Minister Ruslan Strilets.

According to the Minister, the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has already set us back on the path to climate neutrality by more than 120 million direct and indirect carbon emissions. These emissions result from missile explosions, ammunition, forest fires, burning of oil depots, and fires. Additionally, there are potential emissions that will occur during the post-war reconstruction of Ukraine.

In addition to his speech at the conference, Ruslan Strilets also held a series of bilateral meetings, including with the OSCE Secretary-General Helga Maria Schmid, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate John Kerry, Austrian Federal Minister for Climate Action, Environment, Energy, Mobility, Innovation, and Technology Leonore Gewessler, Canadian Ambassador for Climate Change Catherine Stewart, and Ministers of Environment of Lithuania (Simonas Gentvilas) and Moldova (Iordanca-Rodica Iordanov).

Damage to natural reserves and protected ecosystems

Ukrainian scientists have begun monitoring biodiversity in various ecosystems at the bottom of the Kakhovka Reservoir, which was drained due to the Russian terrorist act on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam.

According to experts from the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, over 200,000 hectares of land have been exposed, where absolutely nothing grows, despite it being a water ecosystem before. All aquatic organisms suddenly died, and there is no terrestrial life yet. At the bottom of the reservoir, they could see dry land with occasional bodies of water, devoid of any vegetation. Today, it looks like a vast desert. This is the first time such a large area of land has been exposed, comparable to the sudden retreat of a glacier.

Scientists are currently discussing different possibilities: some suggest that invasive species may appear in these areas, others believe that woody species might emerge, while others suggest a possible partial restoration of steppe vegetation. Plants have started to sprout in the reservoir. It has only been a few weeks since the water receded, but in some places near the shores, there are small sprouts scattered in the mud that have just emerged. Identifying these plants is quite challenging, so scientists will continue their work in laboratories.

Damage to freshwater resources

Volunteers in the Kherson region have started implementing a unique project to clean up the area. They are assisting rescuers and municipal workers in overcoming the consequences of flooding caused by the blowing up of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, as reported by the Kherson Regional Military Administration. The flood has brought tens of thousands of tons of debris and mud onto the city streets. Crews are pumping water out of homes and other buildings and cleaning, drying, and disinfecting the houses. Such work has been carried out in over 700 locations, resulting in the removal of over 9,000 tons of waste.

Demining operations have been ongoing in the Irpin River and other water bodies in the Kyiv region for over a year. Rescuers regularly discover Russian projectiles and rockets. Ukrainian divers still have to carefully inspect tens of thousands of square kilometers of water bodies in the most heavily mined country in the world. It is uncertain when this work will be completed. More information about the demining of water bodies can be found in the BBC article.

Black and Azov Seas

By far the biggest changes to have taken place on the Crimean Peninsula during the years of Russian occupation are the construction of a bridge linking the Taman and Kerch peninsulas and the construction of Tavrida Highway. This construction has led to a wide range of environmental and social threats, which have been completely disregarded since the design stage.

Changes to the hydrology of the Kerch Strait, the damage inflicted on the Crimean peninsula’s geology as a result of stone quarrying and sand excavation, and the construction of the Tavrida Highway — have all permanently mutilated Crimea’s natural environment. Detailed information about the environmental impact of the construction of the Crimean Bridge can be found in the report published by the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group.

https://us10.campaign-archive.com/?u=284d761860729672556585dea&id=667a51cb18

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