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

New reports on wildfires on the Kinburn Peninsula and water pollution in the Siverskyi Donets River highlight the enormous scale of the crimes committed by Russian invaders against the environment of Ukraine.

It is currently impossible to precisely assess the damage caused to the Ukrainian environment, as there is no access to a significant area that is under Russian occupation. However, the total estimated amount of environmental losses already exceeds UAH 2 trillion. This was reported by Eduard Arustamyan, Head of the Department of Natural Reserve Fund and Land Resources of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, during the discussion "Consequences of War in Natural and Biosphere Reserves, National Parks of Ukraine"  at the Ukraine-Ukrinform Media Center.

In particular, the occupied facilities of the natural reserve fund include the Dzharylgach National Park and Oleshky Sands in the Kherson region, the Ivory Coast of Sviatoslav National Park in the Mykolaiv region, Pryazovs'kyi National Nature Park and Velykyi Luh in the Zaporizhzhia region, and the Meotida park in the Donetsk region. The heads and scientific departments of these parks work remotely whenever possible.

Experts from the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) called on the European Union to introduce criminal liability for the crime of ecocide committed by Russia during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. This is stated in the official statement of the EESC.

EESC experts urged the European Union to document, map and measure the environmental impacts of the Russian invasion of Ukraine to legally protect the environment, ensure accountability, and lay the foundation for an environmentally and socially just post-war recovery of Ukraine that is consistent with international standards.

Nuclear and radiation safety threats

According to Energoatom, there are no changes in the operating mode of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is currently under Russian occupation. The plant is not generating electricity but instead is consuming it for its own needs from the Ukrainian power grid. 5 units of the Zaporizhzhia NPP are currently in a cold shutdown mode, while the 5th unit is in a hot shutdown mode.

Russian occupiers are preparing to "evacuate" around 3,100 people from Energodar, a satellite city of the Zaporizhzhia NPP. This will exacerbate the already urgent issue of having sufficient personnel to ensure the safe operation of the nuclear power plant, even in its current shutdown mode.

Meanwhile, Energoatom is taking steps to form a team consisting of the necessary number of professionals capable of ensuring the safe operation of the plant in the first period after its de-occupation. Such a team will work in a shift mode and will be formed from Zaporizhzhia NPP employees who have been evacuated to the territory controlled by Ukraine, as well as from experts from other Ukrainian nuclear power plants.

The only way to stop the Russian chaos at the Zaporizhzhia NPP and ensure the plant’s safety is to liberate it as soon as possible, expel the Russian occupiers from Energodar, and hand over the control of the plant to its legitimate Ukrainian operator, Energoatom.

Recent attacks on infrastructure and industrial sites

On May 4, Russian military forces shelled an energy infrastructure facility in the Donetsk region for over 2 hours. Damage to the power distribution grid in the Donetsk and Kherson regions was also reported due to shelling.

On May 5, the terrorist country:

• attacked industrial enterprises in the Donetsk region: 2 S-300 missiles targeted the building of the Zeus Ceramics plant in Sloviansk, and the administrative building of the NKMZ plant was damaged in Kramatorsk;
• attacked Glukhiv in the Sumy region with guided aerial bombs, damaging 44 residential buildings;
• attacked Bakhmut in the Donetsk region with phosphorus ammunition that is prohibited under international law.

On May 7, Russians:

• attacked the Mykolaiv region with rockets, damaging the building of an industrial enterprise;
• launched a missile strike on an automobile enterprise in Balakliia in the Kharkiv region.

On May 8, Russian terrorists:

• used 35 suicide drones to attack peaceful cities in Ukraine from the north. Drone debris damaged a house, a diesel fuel tank, a car, and a gas pipeline, causing fires;
• in Odesa, Russian missiles destroyed a Red Cross humanitarian aid warehouse and a recreation base, causing massive fires.

On May 9:

• Russia fired 25 missiles at Ukraine. Debris from a Russian missile damaged a four-story building in Dnipro;
• Russian shelling damaged a civilian industrial facility in Kupiansk, the Kharkiv region.

On May 10:

• after more than 70 shelling attacks, over 30 cases of destruction were recorded in 20 settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region;
• occupiers struck Nikopol with heavy artillery. 3 private residential buildings, industrial buildings, an electrical transmission line, and cars were damaged.

Pollution caused directly by hostilities

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, to May 10, 2023, 358,091 explosive items were neutralized in Ukraine. An area of 848.7 square kilometers was surveyed for explosives. There are still 174,000 square kilometers of potentially dangerous areas remaining, which is 30% of the country's total area.

The area of contaminated soils in Ukraine amounts to millions of hectares. Soil is a well-organized ecosystem. The weight of one tank can reach 50 tons. Under the pressure of such weight, normal connections between soil particles are lost, and the soil structure and hierarchy are destroyed. Soil compaction limits plants' ability to adapt to climate change, drought conditions, and insufficient moisture. These effects become even more dangerous when heavy-tracked military vehicles repeatedly pass over the same tracks. The problem is particularly acute under conditions of increased moisture.

Fires deplete and damage the necessary penetration of water into the deeper soil horizons. The humus content in the liberated area of the Kyiv region (within the Chornobyl Zone) has decreased threefold compared to the pre-war period.

It is worth noting separately the soil disturbances caused by explosions. Fragments of ammunition, explosive components, and by-products of chemical reactions mix with the soil at the bottom of the explosion craters, while others scatter around. Soil contamination was documented within a radius of 5 meters from the craters (created by MSLR ammunition explosions), and mechanical parts of rockets were thrown up to 120 meters away.

More details about the impact of the war on soils can be found in the articlepublished by the Ukraine War Environmental Consequences Work Group.

Damage to natural reserves and protected ecosystems

Unique due to its biodiversity, the Kinburn Peninsula has been affected by hostilities almost from the beginning of the large-scale Russian invasion. The wildfires caused by Russian aggressors in 2022 were the largest in decades.

During the year of full-scale invasion on the Kinburn Peninsula, 131 wildfires were recorded, affecting over 5,000 hectares. Most of the fires were recurring and hit the same area several times. This is a result of an analysis conducted by employees of the Ivory Coast of Sviatoslav National Park based on data from Sentinel-2 satellites.

The data indicate that up to 4 million trees were affected by the fires on the Kinburn Peninsula. It will only be possible to fully assess the damage from the wildfires after the area is liberated. The results of the satellite monitoring are available at https://arcg.is/1X5rGT0

Wildfires on the Kinburn Peninsula have endangered 465 species of unique plants and medicinal herbs, including the largest field of wild orchids in Europe, covering an area of ​​about 60 hectares. Wild orchids are listed in the Red Book. The unique pink lakes, thousands of animals and birds, including endangered species, were also affected with unpredictable consequences.

Southern regions of Ukraine have the lowest percentage of forest cover. In the Odesa region, the forest cover is 6%, and in the Mykolaiv and Kherson regions it is 4%. These are the regions that suffer the most from the Russian full-scale invasion. For over a year, they have been under constant shelling. More information about the damage to forests in southern Ukraine is available in an article published by Hmarochos media outlet.

Damage to freshwater resources

During the Russian invasion, the Siverskyi Donets River in eastern Ukraine became a natural barrier for the Russian troops. Due to active hostilities, the river was littered with military equipment debris, fuel, and explosives.

As a result of the war, the water resource management system was disrupted, leading to the contamination of the entire water supply, damage or cessation of operation of water treatment facilities, and the destruction of hydraulic structures, as well as direct losses of water as a valuable resource.

Due to the military actions, the Pechenihy and Oskil reservoirs have critically low water reserves. Due to damage to hydraulic structures, there are no technical capabilities to create sufficient reserves to meet the water needs of the water management complex throughout the year and during the low-water period of the summer-autumn season.

According to representatives of the Siverskyi Donets Basin Water Management Administration, in 2022, the state monitoring of surface water of the Siverskyi Donets River was fully conducted only in January and February. From March to June 2022, the monitoring was not conducted due to hostilities, and the laboratory equipment was evacuated to the western regions of Ukraine. In June 2022, the monitoring was resumed despite constant shelling, mined territories, and safety risks to employees.

As of today, the monitoring results show exceeding environmental quality standards for hazardous substances such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and heavy metals. Such indicators are recorded in areas of surface water bodies that are not used for drinking water supply. Increased concentrations of nitrogen and petroleum products were detected in the areas of drinking water intake.

A thorough assessment of the war’s impact on the Siverskyi Donets River and its ecosystem can only be conducted after the end of active hostilities. However, it can be definitively stated that the contamination of the river with military equipment debris, fuel, and explosives has already negatively impacted the entire region’s environment and human health.

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