Damages from forest fires in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war have exceeded UAH 1 trillion. In the last week alone, the amount of environmental losses increased by tens of billions of hryvnias, a significant portion of which is attributed to the destruction of forest stands. This was reported by "Forests of Ukraine," according to UNN.
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According to estimates by environmental inspectors, between May 15 and May 22, 2026, alone, the amount of environmental damage increased by another UAH 36.7 billion. Of this, over UAH 36.3 billion represents losses from forest fires and the destruction of other plantations.
Since the beginning of the Great War, approximately 165,000 hectares of forests have already been destroyed by fire
Most fires occur due to Russian shelling and combat operations in frontline and border regions.
The highest number of fires last week was recorded in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions.
In the frontline Izium forestry, foresters and rescuers extinguished several large fires covering an area of over 20 hectares under conditions of mine danger.
New ignitions also occurred in the forests of the Chernihiv region, particularly in the Pereliub forestry, where a fire covering 5,800 hectares raged several weeks ago.
Most forest fires over the past week were caused by Russian shelling25.05.26, 13:18