Minister of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine said on September 1, 2022, that damage to the environment reaches almost UAH 1 trillion. Almost a third of the entire forest fund of Ukraine was affected due to the full-scale invasion of Russia.
Source: Minister of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets
According to the Minister, it was possible to make the appropriate calculations thanks to the new methods developed by the ministry’s experts to determine the amount of damage caused by the pollution of atmospheric air, land and water resources as a result of military aggression.
“Yes, the damage from emissions of pollutants into the air alone amounts to UAH 823 billion. The damage to soils and lands exceeds UAH 138 billion. And there will also be separate methods and calculations for damage to Ukrainian forests, the Black and Azov Seas, subsoil, nature reserve fund, etc.”
Thus, the estimated amount of damage caused by the Russians to the environment of Ukraine is more than UAH 962 billion.
“As a result of the full-scale invasion of the Russians, almost a third of the entire forest fund of Ukraine was affected. The number of forest fires has increased several times. Last year, there was only one large fire in Ukraine with an area of more than 5 hectares. This year, there are already more than 100 of them.”
According to the Minister, the damage to flora and forests is approximately UAH 183.2 billion. About 20% of protected areas are affected by the war.
In addition, Russian troops occupied 8 Ukrainian nature reserves and 12 national natural parks.
Ruslan Strilets noted the team of the Ministry of Natural Resources would continue to calculate the damage to nature from Russian aggression in order to form lawsuits against Russia and obtain compensation for the damage to the environment.
See also: Russian occupiers committed more than 200 environmental crimes in Ukraine
