Explosives, military equipment and unexploded ordnance contaminate air, soil and water. Moreover, experts say that the disaster is intensifying with each new eruption.
The restoration of the steppe in southern Ukraine will take at least 50 years, said Czech and Ukrainian environmentalists, according to the Czech edition of Blesk.
“Different ecosystems have different recovery times, for example, the restoration of the original steppe in protected areas in southern Ukraine will take 50 years,” said Arnika Martsela Chernokhova, program coordinator of the project of Ukraine’s environmental organization.
According to him, some ecosystems, populations of some animals and plants have been destroyed that we may lose them forever.
“For example, important migratory routes for some bird species pass through Ukraine,” Chernokhova said.
The expert said the disaster worsens with each additional explosion, as well as unexploded ordnance, mines or pieces of military equipment.
“According to estimates, this is 214,000 tons of scrap metal,” said Chernokhova.
Above all, the movement of heavy military equipment and the firing that causes fires is a concern. This leads to major problems at the local and regional level, especially in the south and east of the country.
A particularly difficult situation has developed in Donbass, where oil refineries and warehouses are often under shelling.
“Thus, explosions, fires or flooding in affected areas contaminate water, air and soil with dangerous substances that can remain in the environment for decades,” said Greenpeace spokesperson Lukasz Grabeck.
According to Ukrainian environmentalist Oleksiy Angurts, several attacks on industrial facilities and the leakage of hazardous substances were recorded in Severodonetsk and Kharkiv regions. He said the estimated release of pollutants from the bombing and shelling of oil storage facilities since the start of the war has exceeded 290,000 tons, the amount of pollutants emitted by a large steel plant in a year and a half.
At the same time, polluted air is not only a problem for Ukraine, it can also “travel” to neighboring countries.
Land pollution is a serious problem. In addition to a fire, an exploding grenade or projectile will cover the area and surroundings of the explosion with heavy metals. However, the soil is poisoned not only by them. For example, a fuel leak from a hit or mobile military equipment has contaminated it with oil products.
“In the future, all toxic substances in the soil can directly enter the food or the food chain,” said Chernokhova.
Ukraine’s agriculture and farmers face another danger: in many places it is impossible to farm or harvest grain because of unexploded mines and ammunition.
“Ukraine is called the breadbasket of the world, so the war will be very painful for some of the poor countries where there is a real threat of famine,” he added.
Ukrainian experts in environmental monitoring and air quality Maxim Soroka and Oleksiy Angurets are part of the team preparing the methodology for assessing and calculating the damage from the Russian invasion.
However, according to Maxim Soroka, it is important not to single out crimes against the environment in some special category, because they are “crimes against humanity.”
He considers this part of the genocide of the Ukrainian people.
Earlier, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets said that now the cost of environmental damage caused by Russian aggression against Ukraine exceeds 200 billion hryvnias.
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Source: korrespondent
I am David Wyatt, a professional writer and journalist for Buna Times. I specialize in the world section of news coverage, where I bring to light stories and issues that affect us globally. As a graduate of Journalism, I have always had the passion to spread knowledge through writing.