Ukraine will participate in the LIFE programme, the EU’s financial instrument specifically dedicated to environmental, nature protection and climate action projects. In Kyiv, the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevičius, and the Ukrainian Minister for Ecology and Natural Resources, Ruslan Strilets, signed an agreement to this effect on Friday 24 June. Ukraine could benefit from EU funding to help restore its environment after the destruction caused by the war, be it pollution, destruction of ecosystems or other long-term effects (see EUROPE 12923/5).
Mr Sinkevičius visited the Zdvizhivsky forest, a significant part of which has been destroyed by military infrastructure, including shelters and trenches, and the whole area is mined. He also visited the Teteriv Forestry company, which suffered damages, and a new, modern laboratory that monitors the quality of water from the Dnieper basin and has received EU funding.
“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is causing considerable immediate damage to water supply and sanitation systems as well as marine, land and air pollution that will have a lasting environmental impact”, the Commissioner said in a statement. In the short term, soil and water decontamination could be eligible for LIFE co-financing. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)