Russia must be held accountable for environmental damage in Ukraine and pay compensation, MEPs and the European Commission agreed in a debate on the evening of Tuesday 12 December entitled ‘Environmental consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine and the need for accountability’.
The partial destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in June 2023, which the EU attributes to Russia “and which caused the flooding of thousands of square kilometres of territory”, was immediately mentioned by Commission Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis, speaking on behalf of EU High Representative Josep Borrell.
“Zelensky talks about ecocide”, and according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, more than 2,500 cases of environmental damage have been documented to date. Ukraine puts the figure at over €56.7 billion (see EUROPE 13302/6).
“The EU condemns in the strongest terms the environmental damage committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The perpetrators must be held to account and the damage must be compensated”, said Mr Dombrovskis.
He assured us that the EU was working on this. “We have enabled Eurojust to set up the core international crimes evidence database to preserve, store and analyse evidence related to international crimes. Ukraine can now benefit directly from this database”, he added.
The EU continues to strengthen the office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, and supports the investigations of the International Criminal Court. Under the Rome Statute, acts causing severe and long-term damage to the natural environment count as war crimes.
In the EU’s view, it is “crucially important to ensure that Russia pays reparations, including for environmental damage”.
For Michael Gahler (EPP, German), “the word ‘ecocide’ is appropriate”, since “ all the damage will pollute Ukraine’s air, water and soil for a long time to come”.
Ivars Ijabs (Renew Europe, Latvian) agrees: “We are talking about an ecocide costing almost €60 billion, even if the extent of the damage can only be measured after the war. We have a very clear political will to make Russia pay, but we need to find a legal way to make Russia accountable”.
“Of course, but we have to help Ukraine beat Russia as quickly as possible”, said Anna Fotyga (ECR, Polish).
“Russia must assume its responsibilities for the millions of hectares of farmland polluted with heavy metals and greenhouse gases”, said Denmark’s Christel Schaldemose (S&D).
“It is time to find a way to incorporate ecocide as a crime under the Rome Statute”, said Heidi Hautala (Greens/EFA, Finnish).
For Anja Hazekamp (The Left, Dutch), “Ukraine’s ecosystem is a victim of war: destruction of trees and biodiversity, spread of dangerous substances, irreversible damage. We must help Ukraine to gather evidence”. (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)