Greenpeace and Ukrainian NGO Ecoaction are warning of the extent of environmental damage from the war in Ukraine, publishing a map of the worst cases on Wednesday 21 February, saying that this destruction should be taken into account by both the Ukrainian government and the European Commission’s donor coordination platform for planning and funding future nature restoration work in Ukraine.
Data on severe damage was collected by Ecoaction, confirmed by satellite images and mapped by Greenpeace.
According to official information, since 24 February 2022, some 1.24 million hectares of nature reserve territory have been affected by the war. Hostilities have affected 3 million hectares of Ukrainian forests and 450,000 hectares of forests are under occupation or in combat zones.
Land and habitats have been damaged, missile strikes have caused forest fires, soil and water are polluted, and fires at industrial sites caused by bombing lead to further air, soil and water pollution, the NGOs emphasise (see EUROPE 12992/14).
It should be noted that since June 2022, Ukraine has been eligible for funding from the LIFE programme, an EU financial instrument specifically dedicated to environmental projects (see EUROPE 12979/17).
See map: https://aeur.eu/f/5g3 (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)