Since the onset of the full-scale invasion, Ecoaction employees and volunteers have been monitoring cases of potential environmental damage caused by russian aggression. During this time, more than 1,500 cases have already been recorded: fires at oil depots, gas stations, landfills, damage to heat and water supply facilities, industrial facilities, impact on ecosystems, etc. All recorded cases are collected on an interactive map.
This work aims to demonstrate the potential impact of war on the environment and to show the extent of the damage done to nature. All these cases show that the war has a significant impact on the environment, therefore it is important to take into account its preservation in the recovery process and be guided by the Principles of green post-war recovery of Ukraine. However, a real and complete assessment of the damage caused will be possible only after the end of active hostilities, and their consequences will be felt for years.
Monitoring of cases of potential damage to the environment takes place in several categories: damage to industrial facilities, nuclear safety, impact on ecosystems, etc. Let’s look at examples of the most destructive cases and tell what can be done about them to help nature.
Damage to industrial facilities: hitting the oil depot in Kalynivka, 24 March 2022, Kalynivka village
What happened? On 24 March 2022, the russians targeted an oil depot in Kalynivka, near Kyiv. The fire lasted for 5 days, 22 tanks with oil products, 8 railway overpasses with tank cars and pipelines burned. As a result of the burning of 5.8 thousand tons of fuel, 20 thousand tons of pollutants entered the atmospheric air of the Kyiv region, in particular: 19,935 tons of carbon dioxide, 36 tons of carbon monoxide, 8 tons of nitrogen dioxide, and 3 tons of zinc oxide.
What to do during recovery? Although the number of fires at oil depots has increased significantly due to russian attacks, this sometimes happens in civilian life due to personnel oversight or error. Since it is almost impossible to stop a fire before the oil burns out, and the consequences of this for nature are catastrophic, it is necessary to create an effective automatic monitoring system for atmospheric air quality.
This will help to learn in real time about the amount and composition of pollutants in the air and to warn people about the danger of high levels of pollution. And in peacetime, air quality monitoring data will help predict the spread and intensity of pollution. At the same time, the data collected during monitoring will allow for the development of local air quality improvement plans, which will contribute to reducing the concentration of pollutants for which excesses are recorded.
Damage to industrial facilities: hitting a tank with nitric acid, 5 April 2022, Rubizhne town
What happened? Several times the russians hit the tanks with nitric acid, which ignited, and red smoke enveloped Rubizhne. Such shelling happened at least twice, on 5 April and 9 April. The main risk of such cases for nature is that when nitric acid vapours interact with moisture in the atmospheric air, acid rain can be formed.
Acid rain causes the leaching of calcium, potassium and magnesium from the soil, which leads to the degradation of flora and fauna. Getting into the soil, acidic precipitation weakens plants, which increases the incidence of root rot. Due to such precipitation, forests degrade and die, and the impact is greater on conifers than on broad-leaved forests. Acid rain also poisons the water of lakes and ponds, which kills fish and many types of insects.
What to do during recovery? First of all, the case of hitting the tanks with nitric acid in Rubizhne is just one of the vivid examples of how the actions of the russians affect the environment of Ukraine. In fact, there are many such cases, they are diverse, and their impact on environmental components may not be obvious: chemical pollution with heavy metals due to bombing, soil compaction due to the movement of heavy machinery or explosions, etc.
After the de-occupation of the affected area, a comprehensive survey of the affected land and groundwater will need to be carried out to draw up a recovery action plan. This will make it possible to determine the concentration of pollutants, in particular, heavy metals, nitrogen compounds and other substances that may have appeared as a result of the actions of the russian troops. If the obtained values exceed the permissible values, then land clearing may be impractical, unprofitable and even impossible. One of the safe solutions can be the conservation of contaminated land, that is, the suspension of any activity to restore the natural territory inherent in this region. For example, afforestation or restoration of the steppe.
Destructive impact on ecosystems: fire in Triokhizbenskyi Steppe Luhansk Nature Reserve, 27 May 2022
What happened? As a result of fires caused by russian aggression, 17 thousand hectares of forest were destroyed in the Luhansk region. Kreminna Forests National Nature Park and a branch of the Triokhizbenskyi Steppe Luhansk Nature Reserve were affected. The preliminary assessment of damages amounts to over UAH 38 billion, although it is impossible to fully calculate the damage while the territory is under occupation or in the zone of active hostilities.
Triokhizbenskyi Steppe is one of the last large areas in Ukraine where unique steppe ecosystems have been preserved, not planted with pine trees or other trees. Rare species of plants grow here, including 7 species from the Red Book of Ukraine, 3 species from the European Red List and 1 species protected by the Bern Convention. It is also home to one of the rare species of rodents, the northern mole vole, which has managed to survive here thanks to the fact that this region has been spared the destruction that usually destroys the homes of this species.
What to do during recovery? To restore the damaged ecosystems of the objects of the nature reserve fund, it is necessary, first of all, to reduce the intensity of anthropogenic influence on them as much as possible. Of course, this will be possible only after the hostilities are finally over. At the same time, experts will have to assess the restoration potential of damaged areas, and possibly provide recommendations for additional actions that will help ecosystems.
Besides, Ukraine needs to accelerate the inclusion of valuable natural territories into reservations and gradually increase the share of the natural reserve fund from the current 6.9% to 30% of the country’s total area. This will make it possible to protect ecosystems that were not damaged during the war and were not over-exploited, particularly in the temporarily occupied territories, from anthropogenic influence. Highly polluted agricultural lands that need conservation are also promising for such an inclusion in the future.
Destructive impact on marine ecosystems: russian attack on Millennial Spirit civilian tanker, 25 February and 7 July 2022, the Black Sea
What happened? At the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the russians fired at the Moldovan tanker Millennial Spirit, which was carrying more than 500 tons of diesel fuel, after which it remained at sea for four months, as it could not be retrieved due to the blockade. The tanker drifted in the territorial sea without a crew, with the remains of diesel fuel on board, and was again attacked by the russians in the summer of 2022. After the second hit, there were reports of a fire, and later, in roughly the same location, an oil slick was spotted. The tanker itself probably sank.
The shelling and burning of ships at sea is a threat not only due to the emission of pollutants into the air. Sunken and damaged military equipment is a source of pollution with oil products, which create an oxygen-impermeable film on the surface of the sea. Besides, these petroleum products are toxic to most marine life: from microorganisms to large mammals such as dolphins. All this in a complex can lead to the death of marine organisms and significant changes in food chains.
What to do during recovery? Currently, an important source of data are satellite images that allow scientists to monitor, for example, oil spills on the surface of the sea. In particular, scientists noted that the oil film formed as a result of the sinking of ships covered tens of thousands of square kilometres of marine protected areas in Ukraine.
However, sunken military equipment may pose a threat to marine ecosystems for decades to come due to the risk of additional pollutant leakage. That is why after victory it is required to map all sunken ships, sources of pollution and damaged ecosystems. It is important to determine which areas are not affected, and which areas require measures to restore housing. Such water areas, coastal areas and wetlands can become conservation areas, which will help them recover.
Attack on the energy system of Ukraine: shelling of the Ladyzhyn TPP, October–November 2022, Ladyzhyn town
What happened? For the first time, russian drones attacked the Ladyzhyn TPP on 11 October. The station was shelled again on 23 November, after which 18,000 people were left without heating because it is the only heat supply enterprise in Ladyzhyn.
Shelling of such objects is dangerous not only for consumers, but also for the environment since they contain fuel storages — most often coal, fuel oil, or peat — which can ignite and cause significant emissions of hazardous substances into the air: soot, solid particles, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide, heavy metals, etc. Over time, these substances can spread far beyond the area where the fire occurred and have a strong impact on people’s health. Besides, large-scale fires make a negative contribution to climate change, accelerating the processes that cause global warming.
What to do during recovery? First of all, it is necessary to overcome the consequences of fires at energy facilities, since they cause soil, air and water pollution. But in the long term, Ukraine needs to abandon fossil fuels, because coal-fired thermal power plants not only produce energy but also greenhouse gases and fine dust. Ukraine already plans to abandon coal by 2035.
Instead, it is worth implementing decentralized solutions, in particular, distributed generation of renewable energy sources (RES) in communities. Such a decision will contribute both to energy security, since many small renewable energy sources are much more difficult to destroy than large plants, and to de-carbonization, de-oligarchization, de-monopolization, and democratization of energy.
De-carbonization, that is, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change, is very important not only for combating climate change and air pollution caused by coal-fired power plants. Mining Ukrainian coal is becoming more and more difficult and expensive, which leads to the loss of profitability of coal enterprises. Mines are closing and coal communities are losing their main source of income and jobs. Therefore, it is worth intensifying efforts for a gradual transition to cleaner energy sources over the just transformation of Ukrainian mining communities.
Destructive impact on marine ecosystems: mass death of dolphins in the Black Sea
What happened? For the first time, dolphins washed ashore were recorded en masse near the coast of Turkey in the area of the Bosphorus strait at the very beginning of a full-scale war, almost immediately after the introduction of russian warships into the waters of the Black Sea. The largest number of animal bodies was found on the Black Sea beaches in the period from May to June 2022, when the most active fighting took place in this area, in particular for Zmiinyi Island.
In total, in 2022, scientists from Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey and Georgia registered about 1,000 deaths of Black Sea cetaceans. These are only those cases where a confirmed death was recorded, so the real number may be many times higher. One of the causes of dolphin mortality may be the acoustic impact caused by warship radars and underwater explosions. To confirm this, researchers are currently gathering evidence of the war’s impact on dolphins as part of a criminal investigation into ecocide, initiated by the Odesa Prosecutor’s Office.
What to do during recovery? To fully assess the dynamics of changes in cetacean populations, as well as to determine the reasons for their death during a full-scale war, long-term and thorough research is needed. When enough information is available, scientists will be able to make recommendations on how to help marine ecosystems. And, of course, the key is the de-mining of the Black Sea and the cessation of any hostilities in its waters.
Destructive impact on ecosystems: an explosion of the Kakhovka HPP dam, 6 June 2023
What happened? Early in the morning on 6 June, the russians blew up the dam of the Kakhovka HPP, causing water from the Kakhovka Reservoir to rapidly flow down the Dnipro River. The scale of the disaster turned out to be huge: the total zone of rapid changes in hydrological factors of the environment (flooding and drying) amounted to at least 5,000 square kilometres, vulnerable ecosystems were flooded, in particular in national parks and other objects of the nature reserve fund. Because of this, the existence of certain species and ecosystems has been threatened.
Besides, many warehouses, industrial enterprises, landfills, gas stations and other facilities were flooded, from which toxic substances were washed into the Dnipro-Buh estuary. A large amount of fresh water contaminated with fuel and lubricants, fertilizers, and sewage from flooded settlements and fields entered the Black Sea. An additional source of secondary pollution could be the bottom sediments of the Kakhovka Reservoir, where emissions from industrial enterprises and residues of pesticides and fertilizers from the surrounding fields accumulated for decades.
What to do during recovery? The impact on the environment caused by the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP is complex and large-scale. Because of this, to implement effective methods of recovery, it is necessary to carry out several additional field studies in the affected areas with the involvement of specialist scientists of various profiles and to create a comprehensive and effective system for monitoring the state of the environment.
Also, the most effective and, at the same time, the cheapest way to compensate for ecosystems lost due to war is the creation of new and expansion of existing nature conservation areas (national natural and regional landscape parks, natural or biosphere reserves, sanctuaries, etc.). However, it is important that this happens based on the recommendations of scientists based on their research, and the best preserved natural areas of the state and communal property should be a priority, regardless of their current purpose.
A threat to the nuclear security of Ukraine and the world: occupation of Zaporizhzhia NPP, 4 March 2022, Enerhodar town
What happened? Since 4 March 2022, the russians have been occupying the Zaporizhzhia NPP, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe, which produced approximately one-fifth of Ukraine’s electricity. During the occupation, reports were repeatedly received about the destruction of the station’s infrastructure, damage to power lines, shelling and explosions on the territory, and periodic blackouts of the power supply, which is necessary for cooling the units.
On 6 June 2023, the undermining of the Kakhovka HPP by the russians led to the loss of a reliable source of water supply for cooling and other needs of the ZNPP. The station is still staffed by captured Ukrainian workers, who are under constant pressure, have to undergo checks and are subjected to torture.
Such a situation at a nuclear plant is an unprecedented case. The nuclear power plant is not designed to be in the centre of hostilities, and one unsuccessful fall of a russian missile can destroy the block’s protective shell. Prolonged loss of power, damage to cooling systems, or negligence on the part of occupants can also disrupt the normal operation of a nuclear power plant and lead to reactor damage. At the same time, there remains a danger associated with the dry storage of nuclear waste, which stores 174 containers of 24 assemblies of spent nuclear fuel each.
What to do during recovery? First of all, it is necessary to start planning the de-commissioning of nuclear power plants. Nuclear power plants are designed to operate for a certain period and most of them are already operating much longer than planned. The belated restoration and modernization of the old Soviet blocks cannot be a permanent solution. The resources spent on this would be better used in other sectors, which are aimed at the development of safer and more sustainable sources of energy.
It is necessary to plan the future decommissioning of the NPP now because it requires attracting significant funds that should be accumulated during the entire operational period of the NPP, and the closure itself will take decades.
Ukraine needs a permanent, fairly quick and effective reconstruction of the energy sector from the point of view of resource costs. In this context, new nuclear power plants may not be the best option. Their construction takes decades, requires significant financial costs and ultimately poses potential environmental and safety risks.
Therefore, it is important to focus on the development of energy efficiency and decentralized RES generation. This could include expanding the use of solar panels, wind turbines and other renewable energy sources that can be quickly deployed and efficiently used to generate electricity.
A full-scale war continues and the russians are causing new damage every day, including to our environment. Therefore, Ecoaction, together with volunteers, continues to record more and more new cases to highlight this impact and remind us once again that the environment also needs to be restored. At the same time, each case of environmental damage must be investigated and considered separately to choose the most successful solution to overcome the consequences. Nature, like Ukrainians, suffers from war every day, and we cannot forget that.
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The material was created within the framework of the Strengthening the transnational public network Ekonet for climate and environmental protection project, which is carried out with the financial support of the Bread for the World Foundation through Austausch e.V.