On March 3, the world celebrates World Wildlife Day - a date designed to remind us of the value of natural ecosystems and the need to preserve them. For Ukraine, this date takes on special meaning, as the war inflicts a devastating blow on forests, steppes, reserves, and various animal species, and some unique natural territories have been occupied or are in the zone of hostilities. Oleg Lystopad, an environmental expert from the ANTS National Interest Protection Network, told UNN journalist more about how Russian aggression affected the ecology in Ukraine and whether it is possible to restore the destroyed natural territories.
The most damage is sustained by territories where active hostilities are ongoing or have taken place. This primarily concerns the steppe and forest-steppe regions of eastern and southern Ukraine. This is where the line of combat engagement passes, and shelling literally changes the landscape.
The most affected regions are those where the line of combat engagement passes. Due to shelling, forest belts, the so-called "greenery," as the soldiers say, are being destroyed, and the war is being waged "from planting to planting." In these areas, field-protective or other types of forest belts are a mess of fragments of branches, uprooted roots, soil, and ammunition. In satellite images, it looks green, but in reality, these are already weeds that have grown in this place, not trees. It is extremely difficult to restore such areas.
According to information from the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion, almost 11,000 instances of environmental damage have been recorded as a result of armed aggression. In addition, according to calculations by employees of the State Environmental Inspectorate, the amount of damage reaches trillions of hryvnias.
Significant damage to nature is also caused by engineering structures, such as trenches, dugouts, and anti-tank ditches. Their length is measured in hundreds of kilometers. Such structures change the landscape and soil structure, the expert says.
Although the width of a trench is relatively small, due to its enormous length, it significantly affects nature. Add to this mining and unexploded ordnance. It is especially difficult to clear forests and the same forest belts, it is practically difficult to imagine how to do it completely. And there is also chemical pollution from explosives that decompose and get into the soil.
The ecologist explains that the restoration of such territories requires complex recultivation. The soil has a layered structure, and improper backfilling of craters can permanently spoil its fertility. In some cases, Oleg Lystopad says, it is more appropriate to leave the territories undisturbed.
To restore a field, it is necessary to observe the layering of the soil: chernozem on top, then other horizons, down to the parent rocks. This is difficult and expensive.
One option for dealing with the most damaged, polluted, and mined territories could be to declare so-called "red zones," as was done after the First World War in Europe.
Some territories were not demined or recultivated; only military personnel and scientists are allowed there.
At the same time, nature has the ability to self-restore if human intervention is minimized. The ecologist cites the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone as an example. Where there is no economic activity, the number of animals increases.
If nature is left alone, it will restore itself. Humans are a very harmful factor for the environment. Where hunting is prohibited in frontline areas, the number of animals increases. Of course, there are cases of foxes or ungulates being blown up by mines, but over time this danger decreases.
A separate problem is the destruction of especially protected natural territories - reserves, national natural parks, nature reserves, etc. The destruction began in 2014 after the occupation of Crimea and part of Donbas, and later protected territories in the south and east of the country also came under attack.
In Crimea, the Russians began to change the status of protected areas, open hunting, and carry out logging. In the Meotyda National Park on the coast of the Azov Sea, most birds disappeared after the occupation. It was a real bird paradise, and after a year or two, only the most adaptable species remained.
After the full-scale invasion, the Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, Askania-Nova, Luhansk Reserve, Sviati Hory National Park, and other natural gems suffered. Some territories were occupied and looted by the occupiers, and some, although currently located in Ukrainian-controlled territory, burned down due to fires or suffered in other ways, says the environmental expert.
In occupied Askania-Nova (Kherson region), the most valuable asset is the protected steppe. The occupiers have not yet plowed it. But uncontrolled fires occur there constantly. Some animals in the zoo died, and some were taken to Russia. In the Drevliansky Reserve (Zhytomyr region), which was under occupation in 2022, about three thousand hectares of forest burned down, and the Russians burned a centuries-old oak tree for fun.
The destruction of the Kakhovka HPP by the Russians also had a serious impact. According to estimates by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the area of flooded forests is more than 63 thousand hectares. The sharp rise in water levels downstream destroyed bird nests in the floodplains and led to the mass death of many animal species, and it may take years to restore populations.
When the water sharply receded, bird nests in the Lower Dnipro National Nature Park died. According to experts from the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, it will take 7-10 years for populations to recover. Nature is capable of surprising, but forecasts always need correction. Without field research, it is difficult to accurately assess the long-term consequences.
The ecologist emphasizes that a complete picture can only be obtained after de-occupation and detailed on-site research. Satellite monitoring provides a general understanding but does not replace field work; however, it is already obvious that the war has caused large-scale and long-term damage to Ukraine's ecosystems.
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