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

Ukraine has appealed to international nature conservation organizations to recognize as illegal the actions of Russia in the occupied nature reserves of the Kherson region.

This includes the Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve, where Russia has appointed its illegitimate management. The situation is also threatening in the Dzharylgach National Nature Park, which Russia is trying to turn into an area for "hunting, fishing, catching, and shooting wild animals."

"Russians are like barbarians, and they do not understand what they are doing. They have already destroyed a large number of our valuable nature reserves, using them as military bases and parking lots for tanks. The decisions they make today are illegitimate. I recently signed the relevant appeals to the secretariats of international conventions so that, first of all, Russia's activities are condemned, and secondly, the process of non-recognition of these actions by the aggressor has begun," - said Ruslan Strilets, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.

A working group has been established within the Ministry to conduct an initial assessment of the implementation of the EU acquis in the environmental protection legislation of Ukraine.

"This work is being carried out within the framework of the extensive self-screening of the entire national legislation initiated by the Government. Its launch was recently announced by Olha Stefanyshyna, the Vice Prime Minister for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration of Ukraine. This is the basis needed for the quality preparation of Ukraine for the negotiation process. Ukraine aims to begin membership negotiations with the EU this year and to be maximally prepared for accession to the European Union in 2 years," - said Ruslan Strilets.

According to the Minister, the self-screening in the environmental sphere will help to determine where Ukraine currently stands in the implementation of European environmental legislation, identify areas where efforts need to be strengthened and accelerated, and form new points of reference for the progress tracking.

Nuclear and radiation safety threats

During the visit of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Director General Rafael Grossi to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant on 29 March, Russian occupiers did not even attempt to hide their military equipment. The invaders deliberately parked their military vehicles near the nuclear power plant’s units. The terrorist state uses the nuclear power plant as a launching pad to shell Ukrainian cities of Nikopol and Marganets. Ukraine cannot strike back for fear of damaging the nuclear facility. After his visit to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Grossi noted that despite the work of the IAEA expert group on site since September of last year, the situation remains unstable.

In Ukraine, the Director General of the IAEA also met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the meeting, the President emphasized that "without an immediate withdrawal of Russian troops and personnel from the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and adjacent territories, any initiatives to restore nuclear safety and security are doomed to failure."

Recent attacks on infrastructure and industrial sites

On 30 March, Russians carried out a missile strike on a civilian infrastructure facility in Novovbavarskyi District of Kharkiv and launched a UAV attack on critical infrastructure targets in the Izium District of the Kharkiv region.

On 31 March, over the course of the day, the Russians shelled eight Ukrainian regions, killing five Ukrainian civilians, including a 5-month-old infant from Avdiivka in the Donetsk region.

On 2 April, the Russians shelled Kostiantynivka in the Donetsk region. 16 multi-story residential buildings, 8 private houses, a kindergarten, the building of the State Tax Inspectorate, gas pipelines, and 3 cars were damaged in the city. Six residents were killed.

On 3 April, the Russian military:

• struck an industrial enterprise in Beryslav, the Kherson region, with guided aviation bombs.
• shelled a medical facility in Kherson where over 200 patients were being treated.

On 4 April, Russian UAVs attacked an enterprise in the Odesa region, causing a severe fire.On 5 April, the Russians shelled and damaged two industrial enterprises in Kherson.

Pollution caused directly by hostilities

According to the International Coordination Center for Humanitarian Demining of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, from February 24, 2022 to April 5, 2023, 340,488 explosive objects, including 2,200 aircraft bombs, were neutralized in Ukraine. An area of 816 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 assessment of the KSE Institute completed within the "Russia will pay" project indicates that solid household waste management, particularly in populated areas along the front lines, has been complicated by the ongoing hostilities. In addition to household waste, remnants of military equipment, buildings, structures, and infrastructure elements require additional resources for their disposal. This issue cannot be addressed without prior demining and clearing of the territory of explosive remnants of war.

Military maneuvers, fortification construction, explosions, and burning of ammunition have caused disturbance to the surface layer of soils. According to the KSE and Zoї Environment Network assessments, 188,000 square kilometers of soil are at risk of damage and contamination in Ukraine. High risks of damage and contamination exist for 105,000 square kilometers of soil located within 5 kilometers from the front lines.

The use of land damaged by hostilities will be complicated by the necessity of their recultivation, demining, and disposal of explosive remnants of war.

Damage to natural reserves and protected ecosystems

During the first year of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, 26 large-scale fires occurred in an area of the Lower Dnipro River, covering a total area of 5,462.45 hectares. This was concluded by scientists from the Lower Dnipro National Nature Park as a result of analyzing Sentinel-2 satellite images. This was reported on the Facebook page of the Lower Dnipro National Nature Park.

Currently, remote sensing of the Earth is the only way to monitor the ecosystem of the Lower Dnipro National Nature Park, ensuring that the health and lives of park employees are not at risk. Regular fires in the floodplains, caused by enemy shelling, cause irreparable environmental damage.

The territory of the Lower Dnipro National Nature Park is more than 80,000 hectares of wetlands. It was difficult to extinguish fires in these ecosystems even during peacetime, and it is now impossible. Currently, the scientists cannot assess the extent of damage to the ecosystems.

The Center for Investigative Journalism has published a detailed report on the crimes committed by occupiers against the environment in protected areas in southern Ukraine: in the Askania-Nova steppe reserve, the Kamianska Sich national nature park, and on the Kinburn Spit.

The fighting in Ukraine has led to significant land pollution and damage to natural reserve landscapes. The disruption of the work of natural reserve facilities also occurs due to the lack of protection and funding, leading to an increase in illegal logging, mining, forest and grass fires.

Damage to freshwater resources

Russia’s war against Ukraine has a catastrophic impact on the environment, particularly water resources and water infrastructure, and poses significant risks to the population, agriculture, and food security. An international team of scientists has assessed the impact of the hostilities on Ukraine's water resources and infrastructure. The results of their research are discussed in an article by Deutsche Welle.

For Ukraine, last year was a year of deliberate water terrorism by Russia. For 13 months now, Ukraine has been resisting Russian aggression, documenting the damage, making significant efforts to prevent environmental and humanitarian catastrophes, and calling for increased international pressure on the aggressor country. In its report, the EPL NGO described the most egregious crimes against Ukraine's water infrastructure.

Black and Azov Seas

An article published by a US portal Gizmodo describes the environmental damage caused by the war, particularly focusing on the mass deaths of dolphins in the Black Sea due to the use of powerful sonars by the Russian navy. According to Ruslan Strilets, the scale of the tragedy along the Black and Azov Seas coasts is difficult to imagine, and it may take decades to restore the dolphin population.

Based on satellite images from Maxar, the Washington Post reported that Russia has begun preparing annexed Crimea for a Ukrainian counteroffensive. In just a few weeks, the occupiers have built an entire network of trenches and fortifications on the peninsula. The journalists highlight that the defensive structures, in most cases, have been built near natural water barriers, such as the seacoast or canals. Such actions by the aggressor state accelerate erosion and cause irreparable damage to the unique sandy ecosystems of the Crimean coastal zone.

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