Destroyed forests and mined territories: StratCom told about the damage russians have done to the Ukrainian environment
Kyiv • UNN
In the two years since the full-scale invasion, Russian troops have damaged or destroyed 3 million hectares of Ukrainian forests, mined 174,000 square kilometers of territory, caused $63 billion in environmental damage, and polluted protected areas, resulting in catastrophic environmental consequences.
In the two years since the start of the full-scale invasion, russian troops have damaged or destroyed several million Ukrainian forests and mined 174,000 square kilometers of the country's territory. This was stated by the Strategic Communications Directorate of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, UNN reports.
Details
The agency emphasizes that two years of large-scale invasion by Russia have caused catastrophic damage to the Ukrainian environment. In particular:
- Explosive ordnance contaminated 174,000 square kilometers of Ukraine's territory, which is equal to the total area of Austria and Hungary;
- Three million hectares of Ukrainian forests are affected by the war - practically the size of Moldova;
- As a result of the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, 620 square kilometers, or the area of three cities such as Washington, D.C., were flooded.
- The Russian aggression has caused the emission of 150 million tons of greenhouse gases, which is the same as the entire Bulgaria in three years.
- 514 Ukrainian protected areas are occupied by Russians, including 10 national parks, 8 nature reserves and 2 biosphere reserves.
- In total, the Ukrainian environment has been damaged by more than USD 63 billion. This is more than the GDP of such European countries as Estonia.
Russia is not only a threat to Ukraine, the barbarians do not follow the rules of the civilized world. For example, in 2021, the Russians blew up a satellite in orbit, creating 1,500 dangerous fragments of space debris that threatened even the International Space Station
Recall
The Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets stated that as of today the environmental damage caused by Russia amounts to more than UAH 2.4 trillion.