Due to the war in Ukraine, 3 million hectares of forests were destroyed, and the territories contaminated by explosives exceed the area of Azerbaijan

Due to the war in Ukraine, 3 million hectares of forests were destroyed. Photo: press service of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, environmental damage caused to Ukraine is estimated at 71 billion dollars.

This was stated by the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Svitlana Hrynchuk during the UN Conference on Climate Change held in Baku.

«During the full-scale invasion, the Russian Federation committed more than 6,500 crimes against the environment. The total amount of greenhouse gas emissions caused by the war is 180 million tons,» she noted.

According to her, not only Ukraine is feeling the consequences of Russian aggression. Combustion products from missile strikes reached other countries.

«Even in a peaceful European city, the air may contain traces of a Russian missile explosion. Combustion products thrown into the air as a result of Russian missile strikes have already reached Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Serbia, Croatia and Poland,» the minister emphasized.

It is noted that, due to hostilities and fires, 3 million hectares of forests were destroyed in almost three years of war. At the same time, the greenhouse gas absorption potential of Ukrainian forests decreased by 1.7 million tons.

In addition, the territory of Ukraine contaminated with explosive objects is 139 thousand square kilometers, which is twice the area of Azerbaijan.

$71 billion is the damage caused to Ukraine's environment by the war. Photo: press service of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine

The minister emphasized that Ukraine is actively working on recovery.

«To compensate for forest losses due to forest fires, Ukrainians planted 555 million trees on an area of more than 75,000 hectares,» Hrynchuk added.

The content of the Ukrainian pavilion at COP29 is based on the main principle of green recovery — «build back greener», as well as on the need to compensate for the damage caused to the environment due to Russia's aggression.

It was previously reported that as a result of a Russian attack in Odesa on November 18, private houses in one of the city's recreational areas were destroyed. Experts estimated environmental damage at 1.2 million hryvnias.