The Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets noted on January 13, 2023, that the amount of damage to the Ukrainian environment from Russia’s armed aggression already exceeds $46 billion — Ukraine will demand compensation for these losses from the Russian Federation
Source: The Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strilets
“The main part of the calculated losses today is air pollution — $27 billion. In just ten months, as a result of the Russian invasion, more than 42 million tons of greenhouse gases entered the air. This volume can be compared with the annual emissions of Bulgaria,” emphasized the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
The main causes of emissions were forest fires and attacks by Russian troops on energy infrastructure facilities. According to the State environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine, more than 680,000 tons of oil and fuel have already burned as a result of Russian shelling.
At the same time, the war damaged almost a third of Ukrainian forests. At least 23.3 thousand hectares were completely burned.
According to Ruslan Strilets, the war “poisoned” a large part of the Ukrainian land. Damage caused by soil pollution is estimated at $18 billion.
In total, Ukraine has documented almost 2,300 environmental crimes since the beginning of the large-scale invasion.
See also: Russia has committed more than 2,000 crimes against Ukraine’s environment
