Damage to Ukraine's environment from russia's aggression exceeds UAH 200 billion
The amount of recorded environmental damage caused by russia's aggression against Ukraine exceeds UAH 200 billion, Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets says.
"We're constantly collecting information. All the recorded cases are added daily to the Eco-Zagroza mobile application, which anyone can join. To date, this figure has exceeded UAH 200 billion. We continue to record these losses," he told reporters at the Chornobyl site while visiting the exclusion zone, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
However, he noted that not all environmental damage could be estimated in money.
"There are ecosystems that will probably never be restored or take hundreds of years. Suppose it's a burned tree that has grown for 50-100 years or burned hectares of valuable land. And no funds will restore them," said the minister.
As for the Chornobyl nuclear power plant itself and the exclusion zone, the total damage caused by the russian invaders during the occupation has already reached UAH 2 billion.
However, the minister expressed confidence that this amount would be much higher after the authorities identified the damage facts.
"The work is still ongoing. I'm confident that soon we will calculate the final amount to put losses together and declare them to compensate," Ruslan Strilets said, noting that they will find an appropriate compensation mechanism at the international level.
"Today, we're winning because the entire world understands that it was an act of nuclear terrorism. There's no similar incident in the world. The world community will find the right mechanisms to bring the occupier to justice and condemn them and compensate us," the minister emphasized.
He also stressed that russia should, in particular, compensate for the moral damage to Chornobyl workers, "keeping them more than 30 days without rotation is a trauma for which russia must pay the appropriate price."
The russian troops reportedly occupied the Chornobyl nuclear power plant from the first day of the war until the end of March. During this time, the occupiers looted and destroyed buildings in the area and robbed a modern radiation laboratory worth 6 million euros. In addition, during the occupation, it was impossible to rotate personnel who were held hostage by the russian military.
Since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion, more than 230 crimes against Ukraine's environment have been recorded by the Ukrainian Ministry of Ecology. russian troops have targeted and shelled chemical and metallurgical plants, oil depots, and hazardous waste warehouses, damaging or destroying many of these objects.
Nuclear power plants have also been in the zone of active hostilities. After the occupation of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant, the radiation levels increased due to the russian invaders digging in the Red Forest, part of the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar is still temporarily occupied.
russian army's actions pose a real threat to the environment in Ukraine's territory and worldwide.
