“This is ecocide”: Environmental costs grow as Russia’s war drags on

Russia’s war in Ukraine is wreaking havoc on the environment, from polluting waterways to devastating nature reserves, with estimated damages reaching nearly €50 billion, according to a Ukrainian environmental official. 

The deputy head of Ukraine’s State Environmental Inspection, Dmytro Zaruba, told Context.ro in an interview that the destruction last month of the massive Kakhovka dam has only exacerbated the dire impact of the war on the environment. 

“Blowing up the dam should be included in the general list of war crimes,” Zaruba said. “This is ecocide.”  

The floodwaters from the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, which is situated on the Dnipro River and contained 18 cubic kilometers of water, threaten more than 300 protected species of animals and plants, he said. 

“The left bank of the Dnipro, where there were the largest nature reserves, most of the flora and fauna died,” Zaruba said. “The biggest danger from blowing up the Kakhovka dam is contamination by biological or organic residue.” 

“So far, we cannot say how much time or money will be needed to restore the consequences of the explosion,” he added.

As a result of the blast, at least 150 tons of industrial lubricant was unleashed into the Dnipro, which sparked broader geographical concerns since the river flows into the Black Sea. “Freshwater entered the salty Black Sea, and a certain area was affected by this,” he said, without specifying the exact location or what the consequences were. 

But efforts to accurately assess the environmental fallout have at times been perilous. 

In the aftermath of the dam blast, staff from the State Environmental Inspection who were collecting soil samples in affected areas were subjected to Russian attacks. Nonetheless, they pressed on with their work.

The deputy head of Ukraine’s State Environmental Inspection, Dmytro Zaruba (Photo: State Environmental Inspection)

A technical council comprised of 70 scientists and experts has been set up to monitor and assess the damage. The United Nations is helping out by providing laboratory equipment and aerial footage is aiding investigations, the official said.

The UN’s environment programme, the UNEP, has described monitoring the field-level environmental impact in Ukraine as “a colossal task given the scale and geographical spread of reported incidents” and said preliminary data “points to a toxic legacy for generations to come.”

“The mapping and initial screening of environmental hazards only serves to confirm that war is quite literally toxic,” said Inger Andersen, the Executive Director of the UN body, later adding that Ukraine will “need huge international support to assess, mitigate and remediate the damage across the country, and alleviate risks to the wider region.”

Experts fear that when the floodwaters from the dam completely recede, many of the afflicted areas could effectively become deserts due to the destruction. “We have to monitor the situation constantly,” said Zaruba the Ukrainian official. 

Public health concerns over potential cholera outbreaks were also a concern after the dam incident. “We did not (yet) find the causative agents of cholera,” he said, but added: “Buying fish that died … near the Kakhovka Dam is a health hazard.”

Zaruba warned that the enormous sum of €50 billion in estimated damages could also be conservative since Ukrainian authorities have not yet been able to fully assess the impacts in Russia-held territories. 

“We are waiting for the moment when our territories will be liberated, and we receive all the data,” he said, “including making a clear evidence base when Ukraine will file lawsuits for reparations.” 

When questioned on how long it could take nature to recover from the damages inflicted by the war, Zaruba paused. “It could take a century,” he said.

Edited by Stephen McGrath
Photo credit: Unicef Ukraine