Brutal Ecocide: The Environmental Cost of the Ongoing War Between Russia and Ukraine
By Andrea Sanchez Benitez
Sustainability Editor
“Brutal ecocide,” tweeted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky months following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Ever since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, followed by the constant barrage of missiles, Ukrainian inspection teams have been sampling, photographing and recording the water soil contamination as well as the air pollution. According to the Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology, “The war has caused more than $56.4 billion in damage to the environment. There has been widespread chemical contamination of air, water, and soil, and 30% of Ukraine has been contaminated with landmines and unexploded ordnance.”
Faced with this reality, Ukraine’s minister of environmental protection is attempting to build a legal case against Russia for what he refers to as “ecological crimes.”
“We can quickly rebuild a bridge or a house, but it will take decades to renew the nature that they’ve destroyed,” attests Olena Kryvoruchkina, Ukrainian MP and chief co-ordinator of the Operational Headquarters. to CBC News.
In fact, as stated by Foreign Policy News, under the Rome Statute, Article 8, Section 2, point b (iv), “launching an attack in the knowledge that such attack will cause incidental loss of life or injury to civilians or damage to civilian objects or widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment which would be clearly excessive in relation to the concrete and direct overall military advantage anticipated.”
Ecological damage has been exposing the Ukrainian population to immediate danger. If we consider the damage caused by Russia targeting Ukrainian fuel depots alone, such actions released harmful and polluting quantities of methane and carbon dioxide. The Environment Ministry estimates that over 600,000 tons of petroleum products have been released from the beginning of the invasion to February 2023.
“This is a danger to the health of Ukrainians. These burning oil depots and other air pollutants due to war operations end up in people’s lungs, and can cause horrible illnesses,” adds Kryvoruchkina.
In addition, according to Ukraine’s Institute of Marine Biology, following the beginning of the invasion, a Russian missile struck a chemical tanker versing into the Black Sea, covering nearly 2,000 square kilometers.
During the COP27 climate change conference in Egypt, the Ukrainian President stated that the conflict had destroyed five million acres of forest in 6 months.
While Ukraine hopes to receive compensation for the detrimental environmental damages it has suffered, the ability to prove the alleged crimes to international courts poses a challenge.