Russia has committed 2,500 environmental crimes since full-scale war’s beginning – Ukraine’s ministry

According to the preliminary data of the Government, in total, since the beginning of the full-scale war, more than 2,500 facts of environmental damage committed by Russia have been documented, including 14 cases of ecocide under investigation.

This was reported by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko, during a speech at the "United for Justice. United for Nature" conference in Kyiv on October 20-21.

The environmental damage due to full-scale aggression is estimated at 55.6 billion euros – without considering the damage caused by the terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HPP. At the same time, they grow daily by approximately 102 million euros. According to preliminary calculations by the UN, the Ministry of Economy, and the Kyiv School of Economics, the damage from the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP is almost 14 billion US dollars.

"It is necessary to start overcoming the consequences of Russian terrorist acts against the environment now, without waiting for the war's end. That is why the fight against Russian ecocide and the protection of the environment are among the top ten priorities of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula. We regularly hold meetings with international partners and members of the working group on the eighth point of the peace formula, chaired by Andriy Yermak. But we are grateful to everyone who participates in this process and helps us overcome this difficult problem. Our goal is to, together with our partners, assess the environmental damage caused by Russian aggression, bring the aggressor to justice for environmental crimes, and compel compensation for the damage. I am sure that complex joint work will help us to restore the environment and accelerate the green transition of the economy," said Yuliya Svyrydenko.

As emphasized by the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – the Minister of Economy of Ukraine, demining the territory of Ukraine is the zero stage of recovery. Today, more than 170,000 square kilometers of the territory of Ukraine are potentially contaminated. More than 6 million citizens are at risk from landmines and unexploded ordnance. About 800 Ukrainians have already become victims of mines, of which more than 250 have died. Mines also damage nature – biodiversity, soil, and water polluted by explosions suffer.

According to Yuliia Svyrydenko, to quickly make Ukrainian land safe and reduce future environmental damage, the Ministry of Economy is making maximum efforts in humanitarian demining, working according to directions.

According to the First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine – the Minister of Economy- Ukraine also offers partner countries to take certain demining areas under their patronage. For example, it can be patronage over surveying and demining national parks and forest lands, said Yuliia Svyrydenko.