Preliminary losses caused by occupiers in Chornobyl Exclusion Zone exceed UAH 2.5 billion
The Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources records crimes committed by Russia against Ukrainian ecosystems. In the Chornobyl zone, the occupiers tried to commit acts of nuclear terrorism. Almost 12,000 hectares were destroyed by fire in the unique Chernobyl reserve complex. Part of the ecosystem is lost forever.
This was announced at a briefing by Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets, Censor.NET reports with reference to LB.ua.
"Since the first days of the war, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources has been working to record all the crimes that the aggressor state inflicts on our ecosystems today. From the first days of the war, attention was focused on the Chornobyl zone. They have caused a great deal of damage to our Chornobyl Biosphere Reserve, which is an extremely important site of the reserve fund. To date, the previous damage to the exclusion zone exceeds UAH 2.5 billion, "he said.
According to him, the occupiers have disabled the radiation monitoring system.
"We have lost access to information on the radiation background in the exclusion zone. So far, some posts have resumed their work. We are working to provide information online to every Ukrainian. They destroyed the newest central analytical laboratory in Chornobyl. This is almost 100 pieces of modern equipment. There are no analogues of this equipment in Europe. They looted and destroyed many other computer equipment. We are working to restore it, "Sagittarius added.
The Minister stressed that almost 12,000 hectares were destroyed by fire in the unique Chornobyl protected area.
"This is a huge loss for flora and fauna. We understand that we have lost part of the ecosystem forever," he said.
In addition, the occupiers left behind a large amount of ammunition, mined the area. Currently, SES employees together with the staff of the Exclusion Zone are working on demining.
The recording of environmental crimes continues every day. According to the ministry, this is the first armed conflict in recent history with such a huge number of facts of damage to the environment.
