War with Russia: environmental damage to Ukraine exceeds UAH 2 trillion

Over 500 days of warfare on the territory of Ukraine, the damage caused to the country's environment and ecosystems has exceeded UAH 2 trillion.

First Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Oleksandr Krasnolutskyi said this during the presentation of the study "Russia-Ukraine War: Environmental Impact", held at the Media Center Ukraine - Ukrinform.

"Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have been calculating the damage caused to the environment. As of today, they amount to more than UAH 2 trillion. More than 2500 cases of environmental impact have been documented. This includes the destruction of nature reserves, water pollution, mined fields, burnt forests, etc." Krasnolutskyi said.

Krasnolutskyi specified that the total amount of calculated losses due to air pollution is $29.2 billion, land - $24.6 billion, water resources - $1.6 billion. In total, there are 527 thousand tons of waste from destroyed Russian equipment in Ukraine, and 55.9 thousand tons of emissions of harmful substances into the atmosphere have been recorded.

As reported, UNDP in Ukraine handed over to the State Environmental Inspectorate materials for observations in the area affected by the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP.