{"id":5310,"date":"2022-05-11T14:25:50","date_gmt":"2022-05-11T14:25:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learnblue.org.ng\/journal\/?p=5310"},"modified":"2025-04-16T08:09:05","modified_gmt":"2025-04-16T08:09:05","slug":"how-has-the-environment-been-impacted-by-the-russia-ukraine-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learnblue.org.ng\/journal\/climate-crisis\/2022\/05\/how-has-the-environment-been-impacted-by-the-russia-ukraine-war\/","title":{"rendered":"How has the Environment been Impacted by the Russia-Ukraine War?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
Source: South China Morning Post<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On February 24th 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of civilians, and the displacement of more than 10 million people<\/a>. Countless Ukrainian cities and towns have been bombarded. Citizens are living in fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most countries have shown support through their condemnation of Russia\u2019s actions, and have accused it of violating Ukrainian sovereignty and breaking international law. Many countries have implemented economic sanctions against Russia, Russian individuals, and companies<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The war has largely shut off grain exports from Ukraine<\/a> and is affecting Ukrainian farmers\u2019 ability to plant the 2022 crop. Planting there in 2022 is expected to be reduced by nearly a quarter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the Chernihiv region alone, Russian troops destroyed 3,500 buildings, 80% of which were civilian residential buildings, according to a new assessment from British military intelligence.<\/a> Although Ukrainian forces have fought back their invaders thanks to miscommunication and dysfunction within Russia\u2019s ground forces, the carnage never seems to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The atrocities committed by Russian forces have resulted in a tremendous loss of lives. Innocent civilians have been displaced from their homes, and their lives have been turned upside down. But the support from the rest of the world has been tremendous. In times of crisis, human beings are capable of showing true resilience, and come together to support one another. Homes can be rebuilt, and lives may eventually return to \u2018normal\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, damage to the environment is irreversible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
Source: OpenDemocracy<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On 12th March 2022, Satellite imagery taken by the European Space Agency showed at least seven fires burning within the Chernobyl nuclear power plant\u2019s exclusion zone<\/a>. Ukrainian officials warned that it would be difficult to put them out due to the control of Russian troops.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In comparison to other recent conflicts, the damage to the environment is more obvious and clear, owing to the speedy reports by citizens and officials on social media platforms. This growing awareness has spread fear, and drawn attention to the atrocities committed by Russia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Environmental Peacebuilding Association says attacks on civilian and military sites have already caused major fires in fuel-storage areas, while fighting in Kharkiv has ruptured a gas pipeline<\/a>. Ukraine is densely populated and heavily industrialized – the citizens have never been in this much danger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Environmental advocates have labeled the situation an “ecocide” – the destruction of large areas of the natural environment as a consequence of human activity<\/a> – and are trying to bring international criminal charges against Russia<\/a> for the environmental destruction its military has already caused, and may potentially cause, but more on that later. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRussia should pay for these crimes<\/a>,\u201d said Evgenia Zasiadko, the head of the climate department at Ecoaction, a Ukrainian environmental advocacy group<\/a>. \u201cNot only for the people who have been killed and harmed, not only for the infrastructure and cities, but also for the damage to the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy worst fear is that the damage will be so huge that we won\u2019t be able to rebuild,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\/
Source: NGO Ecoaction<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Zasiadko\u2019s team had documented 110 explicit environmental crimes<\/a>, ranging from destruction and dilapidation of Ukraine\u2019s water, soil, air quality, and wildlife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Pentagon database has recorded 1,200 missiles, and all of these missiles, bombs, and tanks contain waste<\/a>,\u201d she said. \u201cNow and in the future, heavy metals will be in our groundwater and soil. We\u2019re an agricultural country, and when it\u2019s not an active war, I don’t know how we\u2019re going to rebuild anything because it’s going to be polluted.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There have been at least 36 attacks on fossil fuel infrastructure, 29 attacks on electricity stations, 7 attacks on water supplies, and 6 attacks on nuclear facilities<\/a>, Ecoaction has noted. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

After an attack on the Sumykhimprom chemical plant in northern Ukraine, ammonia began leaking until it covered an area with a radius of 2.5 kilometers<\/a>, Zasiadko said, threatening nearby communities by contaminating groundwater supplies, the soil, and wildlife. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some key events that have and will lead to the severe degradation of the environment include – <\/p>\n\n\n\n