The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to ongoing widespread and possibly serious and long-term environmental damage. The Ukrainian government, journalists and international observers describe the damage as ecocide. Explosions inflict toxic damage along with physical destruction, pointed out Dragan Mishev from CIVIL at the conference “Perspectives of the circular economy in conditions of war and insecurity”, which was held within the framework of the Week of Circular Economy in the Western Balkans, 2024.

However, the beginning of Russia’s war against Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has created a new reality. Crimes against the Ukrainian environment and people are being committed every day. Ever since the beginning of the invasion, we have been observing the total and, in most cases, deliberate destruction of Ukrainian natural resources, ecosystems, and industrial and infrastructural facilities, which has led to widespread environmental pollution.

Russia uses the destruction of the environment as a weapon of war in Ukraine. 

The detonation of missiles and artillery shells is unleashing a great number of toxic substances, which accumulate in the surrounding soil, wood, turf, and other structures. Explosions in the air release chemicals that may cause acid rain, which changes the acidity of the soil and can cause burns to people, plants, mammals, and birds.

Moreover, Ukrainian territory has been contaminated with the remnants of military ammunition on an enormous scale. According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, from February 24 to June 15, 2022, 136,606 explosive objects were disarmed in an area of 40,905 hectares. However, many more remnants of already exploded shells and destroyed ammunition still remain on Ukrainian territory. A full-scale war with Russia has been going on for four months, although everybody now realizes that it will go on for much longer. Taking into account that Russia has been relying on the massive artillery shelling of the entire Ukrainian territory, we can expect contamination with the remnants of military ammunition to increase.

Russia is deliberately trying to destroy the Ukrainian economy. The airstrikes are largely targeting critical Ukrainian infrastructure, industrial facilities, oil and fuel depots, chemical and pharmaceutical warehouses, municipal facilities such as sewage pumping stations, power storage stations, and railroads. By June 2022, more than 18,000 infrastructure facilities in Ukraine had been destroyed. Total direct infrastructure spending has already exceeded $105.5 billion.

This is leading to the contamination of soil, surface, and underground water with various chemical components and organic compounds. Moreover, return water from settlements is flowing into the Dnieper River and further into the Black Sea and the Azov Sea without being treated, spreading pollution to these regions.

The geopolitical, economic, and social impacts of the war go well beyond Ukraine.

Because Ukraine and Russia are two major suppliers of energy, food, and fertilizer, the war has had a profound impact on global food security, causing disruptions in supply chains and raising prices for these commodities, thereby exacerbating food shortages and inflation in many countries. Partially due to the war, global economic growth slowed to 3.2% in 2022, well below expectations. The war has led to a significant energy crisis in Europe, with global reverberations.

The war has had devastating impacts on Ukraine’s natural environment and built environment. The most striking example has been the Russia’s destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam on 6 June 2023 which has changed the landscape of southern Ukraine, brought unprecedented environmental damage to the Black Sea region, and will have lasting global repercussions. The consequences of Russia’s act of ecocide include destruction of ecosystems in the Kakhovka reservoir, the water bodies that flow into it, and areas downstream of the Dnipro River, water pollution, displacement of mines, and impediment of irrigation in southern Ukraine which compromises global food security. Following the dam attack, Zelensky warned this bill will now come in significantly higher.

The international reaction to this crime was inadecuate according to the enormity of the destruction. These natural ecosystems perform fundamental life-support services, such as provision of food, fiber, and fuel. These ecosystems also regulate air quality and climate; water purification; etc. Ukrainian and international environmental agencies as well as nongovernmental organizations have been documenting the environmental damage caused by the war, with the goal of seeking reparation and restoration of both the natural environment and the built environment during the postwar reconstruction period.

As a human rights organization, We strongly condemn the ecocide committed by the Russian aggressors in Ukraine, and we call on the international factor to take decisive measures to suppress this form of aggression, because the right to a healthy environment, access to clean water and renewable energy sources are among fundamental human rights.

The content is part of the large regional initiative to mark the Western Balkans Circular Economy Week (27-31 May, 2024) under the motto “Sustainable Bridge: Unite, Uplift, Upcycle”, which is implemented by the LogEx regional network, where CIVIL is a member, at the initiative of the reputable think-tank organization Balkan Forum from Kosovo, and with the support of Rockefeller Brothers Fund of the United States.