PM Shmyhal: Goal to make aggressor pay for all crimes, including those against environment

This was emphasized by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during the International Environmental Forum United for Nature. Agenda for Ukraine, Ukrinform reports.

The head of the government noted that Clause 8 of President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula clearly emphasizes the need for assessing the damage to the environment, holding Russia accountable, and restoring and reconstructing Ukraine.

"The principle of ‘Russia will pay’ is extremely important and fundamental for us. The principle is laid down in our Environmental Declaration, the draft of which was presented in October during the United for Justice, United for Nature forum. In particular, the declaration calls for the creation of an International Environmental Damage Assessment Platform. And this is clearly correlated with Volodymyr Zelensky's initiative to create a Global Damage Assessment Platform, which he announced at the Climate Change Conference in 2022," said Shmyhal.

PM noted that the International Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of War operates under the umbrella of the Peace Formula. It synchronizes the global effort around the topic of environmental damage.

As the head of government noted, Ukraine has also made significant progress in dialogue with partners regarding compensation involving seized Russian assets.

"We are waiting for effective decisions from the European Union, the United States, and other countries, which will allow us to allocated Russia’s resources for helping Ukraine. This will be an important precedent on a global scale. Any aggressor will be aware that sooner or later, they will pay for the damage inflicted," Denys Shmyhal emphasized.

During the speech, the Prime Minister noted that since the full-scale invasion, the Ministry of Environment has recorded almost 3,600 Russian crimes against the environment. Losses already amount to UAH 2.2 trillion. As a result of constant shelling, more than 750,000 tons of debris waste has been formed, which has polluted 30 million hectares.

In addition, according to the Ministry of Economy, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of Ukrainian land are potentially contaminated by mines and unexploded ordnance.

"Last year, we returned more than 200,000 hectares of agricultural land to use. For comparison, this is more than two squares of our capital Kyiv. And this year, we have the ambition to survey and, if necessary, clear more than 512,000 hectares. But the mine threat will prevail for years to come," the head of the government noted.

Denys Shmyhal also reported that the government continues to tackle the consequences of the Kakhovka HPP dam explosion, caused by the Russians. Billions of hryvnias were allocated and new waterworks were built, he explained.

At the same time, Ukraine is implementing environmental reforms. According to the prime minister, last year, the government completed the reform of the field of subsoil use. The industry's profits from auctions held in 2023 reached a record amount of more than UAH 2 billion.

In the forest industry, thanks to the ongoing transformation, 2023 also became a record year in terms of profits. They have more than doubled to UAH 3 billion.

Denys Shmyhal emphasized that the plans for 2024 include the intensification of climate policy implementation because this is one of the prerequisites for rebuilding Ukraine in line with the "green" standards.