Valuable areas of Dzharylhach Island being destroyed by fire

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Through the system for monitoring fires, environmentalists noticed large-scale centers of fires on the temporarily occupied island of Dzharylhach.

The correspondent of Rubryka reported this.

Large-scale fires on the island were noticed by an ecologist, biologist, and head of the Ukrainian environmental protection group Oleksii Vasyliuk through NASA's fire tracking system:

"There's a huge fire burning in the most valuable part of Dzharylhach Island, and it's become a real worry that the whole park could go up in flames. The most valuable place has already burned," he commented to Rubryka.

^{Photo: NASA}

Fire locations as of August 5, registered by NASA's fire tracking system. A source is at the link.

Rubryka noticed that the fires started on August 4. On the evening of August 5, their number increased significantly. This means that the occupiers do nothing to put out the fires.

At the time of publication of this news, August 6, the number of fires remains unchanged.

For reference:

Dzharylhach Island is the largest Ukrainian island in the Black Sea. The entire territory of the island and part of the water area has a special protection status; it is a National Park.

Many valuable animals, birds, and insects live on the island. For example, there are deer, red hares, wild boars, fallow deer, foxes, pheasants, and countless seagulls. Dolphins often came to the shore. In total, 15 species of mammals and 248 species of animals live here, 47 of which are listed in the Red Book.

Previously, Rubryka wrote about the fact that the occupiers created a man-made spit that connects the island of Dzharylgach with the mainland.

Recently, the AFU General Staff reported that Russians had created a man-made spit connecting Dzharylhach Island with the Kherson mainland. The report says the invaders covered the ferry to the island with sand near the village of Lazurne.

Russian troops use the reserve to base their troops and equipment to support the defense lines, actively breached by Ukrainian forces.

Is it possible to create a man-made spit that will turn the island into a peninsula? Satellite images from previous years show that the gap appeared and disappeared again in different years, long before Russian forces showed up in the Kherson region.

Rubryka appealed to ecologists to find out and put it all together: what is wrong with Dzharylhach?

According to the director of the park, Iryna Sabashenko, the Dzharylhach Bay and the island are included in the list of the most important wetlands of international importance according to the Ramsar Convention, and such treatment of the natural object is unacceptable.

Read more in our material: "Are the Russians destroying Dzharylhach? Explanation from the director of the National Park."