Environmental damage from war in Ukraine could reach €72 billion, - German scientists
As a result of the war, 25,000 hectares of forest have been burned, and 220 nature reserves are under threat of destruction or have been completely destroyed. Almost a million more hectares of forests and land in Ukraine are mined.
According to Censor.NET, citing DW, this was stated by Susanne Worschech, a representative of the Association for Interdisciplinary Research on Ukraine (KIU) at the European University Viadrina in Frankfurt am Oder.
She noted that ecologists are increasingly using the term "ecocide", which is the massive destruction of the natural basis of life. scientists are collecting evidence of ecocide in Ukraine. Evidence is currently being collected.
"War leads to the deaths of not only people, but also animals - in particular, the number of dolphins and whales killed in the Black Sea continues to increase. They are being killed by torpedo and mine explosions, sonar noise from warships and water pollution," added Worshech.
Scientists from the University Viadrina, together with representatives of the Ukrainian authorities and NGOs, are collecting evidence of the war's ecocide. This evidence is needed to bring the perpetrators to justice and to claim damages. The International Criminal Court in The Hague does not yet consider ecocide as a crime, but the EU and the UN are already campaigning for the inclusion of environmental crimes in the list of crimes considered there.
"One thing is clear now: restoring Ukraine's nature and energy infrastructure will entail considerable costs. I hope that Germany and the EU will play an active role in this process. What we have to repair and rebuild will cost a certain amount, says the researcher, but I think it's worth it. Because if we do nothing, everything will become much more expensive and much more unpleasant," said Worshech.
As a reminder, in 2024, the amount of damage caused by the enemy to the environment at the Ministry of Defence facilities exceeded UAH 42 billion.
