Environmental Impact Of The 2022 Russian Invasion Of Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to ongoing widespread and possibly serious and long-term environmental damage. The Ukrainian government, journalists and international observers describe the damage as ecocide.

Explosions inflict toxic damage along with physical destruction. Every explosion releases particles of toxic substances such as lead, mercury and depleted uranium into the environment. When ingested, explosives like TNT, DNT, and RDX, cause illness.

Fights in heavily industrialised areas may lead to technological disasters, such as spills of tailings and fuel, that poison vast territories not only in Ukraine, but also in Europe and Russia. Destroyed buildings may release carcinogenic dust that remains hazardous for decades. Heavy metals and chemicals may penetrate underground waters and poison water sources, killing life in rivers and water bodies. Destruction of civil infrastructure has already left more than four million people without access to clean drinking water. Soils in some areas of military conflict are no longer fit for agriculture, because plants draw up and accumulate the pollutants.

War also increases the risk of nuclear accidents. Power shortages at nuclear plants and fights in the vicinity of stations may result in disasters such as Chernobyl and Fukushima. Military emissions of reach hundreds of million tonnes and undermine the goals of the Paris Agreement.

More than of Ukraine's nature reserves have become a war zone. Populations of rare endemic and migrant species have already suffered great losses, and birds have been forced to abandon nests and change their usual migration routes. The efforts of decades-long conservation projects have been ruined.

Estimating the total environmental damage inflicted by the war is not possible until it ends. According to preliminary data, it will take Ukraine's nature at least 15 years to recover.

War damage to nature

Environmental damage caused by war can last for centuries. According to studies, soils near Ypres in Belgium still contain more than of copper after World War I. In Iran, soils are still contaminated with mercury and chlorine after fights during the Iranian Revolution. The First and Second Chechen War left more than 30% of soils in Chechnya unsuitable for agriculture.

Depending on soil pH and access of oxygen and water, it takes from 100 to 300 years for ammunition to degrade. Destroyed cities pose a huge ecological threat because undetonated bombs are buried in debris, ruined houses release cancerogenic dust (sometimes for decades), and millions of tonnes of rubble are almost impossible to recycle. Asbestos may be released into the air from the rubble. Forced mass relocation of people overloads the infrastructure of host regions. Refugee camps accumulate waste and have almost no recycling facilities.

In 2014, it cost approximately to plant a mine in Ukraine, while it cost more than to clear that mine. Lots of research is required to fully estimate the environmental damage caused by the Russian invasion, although this is impractical until hostilities cease. As of June 2022, Ukraine's Ministry of Environment estimates the cost at .

Direct pollution

After the first two weeks of hostilities, air monitoring in Kyiv showed pollutant concentrations 27 times higher than normal. Explosions, destroyed armor and vehicles, burning and spilled fuel pollute air, water, and soils. The explosion of every bomb releases particles of heavy metals, formaldehydes, nitrous oxide, hydrogen cyanide, and toxic organic compounds. These pollutants are spread by winds and underground waters, which is why the hazardous ecological impact of war will directly affect Russia and Europe. The explosives release chemical compounds that are oxidized in air and may cause acid rain. They can 'burn' vegetation and respiratory organs of mammals (including humans).

Around 95–97% of ammunition is lead. The rest is made of materials such as zinc, nickel, barium, manganese, copper and antimony, and sometimes depleted uranium. Lead is highly toxic and highly ingestible, and enters the human body not only when people breathe, eat and drink, but also through skin and hair. Prolonged exposure to lead causes kidney failure, and even short-term contact affects the nervous system and induces encephalopathy, as well as anemia, loss of coordination and memory. Similar neurotoxic effects occur in animals.

Particles of depleted uranium are 100 times smaller than leukocytes and easily bypass the blood-brain barrier, and are thus capable of reaching the olfactory nerves and disrupting cognitive processes directly. Antimony causes inflammation of cardiovascular, respiratory and digestive systems. Nickel also damages the immune system. Exposure to high concentrations of copper, manganese and zinc can have a poisonous effect and induce pneumonia, pulmonary fibrosis, and lethargy. Microparticles of destroyed ammunition shells may enter water and penetrate human and animal bodies through the food chain.

Explosives, such as TNT, DNT, and RDX, cause chemical pollution and induce acute intoxication and long-term mutagenic effects in people. TNT is easily absorbed through skin and mucous membranes. Depending on the dose, its cancerogenic effects can induce alopecia, anemia, liver failure, and cataracts, and change blood composition. Hexogen poisoning causes nausea and anemia, prolonged exposure leads to kidney and liver failure. DNT is also toxic, in high doses it can disrupt the cardiovascular system and provoke oncology. The explosion of one BM-21 Grad releases more than of sulfur that reacts with water and turns into sulfurous acid. War-damaged land is 'burned' with acid.

According to the Pentagon, by July 2022 at least 1200 rockets and bombs had exploded in Ukraine. In the first days of the invasion, the Russian army bombed ammunition depots located near urban areas. Toxic clouds raised by the massive explosions and fires covered residential districts and villages; severe damage to health of the locals may be the result. The infamous 'Pančevo cancer' is an example of such exposure — a spike of oncology has been recorded among Pančevo 1999 bombing survivors. Many scientists are sure that toxic damage caused by hostilities is even more hazardous to the human population than explosions.

According to Russian journalist Yulia Latynina, the toxic fuel of malfunctioning air-launched cruise missiles from Russian Tu-95 and Tu-160 bombers deployed over the Caspian Sea during the invasion caused the mass die-off of Caspian seals in 2022. According to Latynina, some missiles fail to launch properly due to their age and fell close to their launch point. To avoid accidental failures over land, launches are made over water. Since the start of the invasion several mass die-offs of Caspian seals have been recorded, such as in the spring of 2022 when, between 31 March and 2 May, 832 carcasses were found in Kazakhstan's Mangystau Region, and in the summer of that same year when 837 carcasses were found on Kazakhstan's coast.

Bombing of industrial sites

Eastern Ukraine was a highly industrialized area, with more than 900 facilities and production centres, including coal mines, oil refineries, chemical labs and steel plants. The Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) estimated that more than of toxic waste and tailings are stored in this region. Direct hits and explosions result in leakages of hazardous materials that poison air, water, and soils. Accidents at high-risk industrial sites can escalate with a domino effect and cause disastrous thermal, hydro, and chemical discharges.

, more than 36 attacks had been registered on fossil fuel infrastructure, 29 attacks on electricity stations, seven on water infrastructure, and six on nuclear sites. More than 60 fires occurred at Ukraine's oil refineries by June 2022. Accidents at huge industrial enterprises such as Azovstal, Lysychansk Oil Refinery, or Sumykhimprom could lead to disastrous environmental damage. However, Azovstal initiated a program of environmentally safe shutdown in the first week of the Russian invasion. Coke ovens were stopped, the temperature was lowered, and liquid glass was poured in to prevent the coking process from continuing and the coke oven gas to be released as intensively as possible. On 25 February, chemical reagents were disposed of. An attack on Lysychansk refinery ignited the tank of oil sludge, two reservoirs with of petroleum, and a sulphur store.

The number of attacks on industrial centres caused international observers and the Ukrainian government to identify them as ecocide. For instance, on 21 March ammonia reservoirs at Sumykhimprom were hit. The resulted leakage covered an area in radius, and the people of Novoselitsy village were told to hide in shelters. On 5 and 9 April, nitric acid tanks in Rubizhne were blown up: the police of the Donetsk People's Republic and the Ukrainian army blamed each other. On 4 April 2022, a Russian rocket was shot down in Kremenets Raion, and the debris fell onto a farm and hit reservoirs with organic fertilizers, causing leakage. Though the tanks were nearly empty, the spill was enough to poison the local river Ikva. A few days later, water sampling showed ammonia concentration at 163 times above safe, and dead fish were reported on its banks. On 31 May, in Sievierodonetsk Raion a tank with nitric acid was blown up, and a chemical cloud forced locals to hide in shelters. As of June 2022, Ukrainian observers registered more than 2000 cases of environmental damage caused by hostilities.

Forced migration is another risk caused by the war, because without human control even out of service industrial sites may be hazardous. Most plants and industrial sites in East Ukraine were built during the Soviet era, and that infrastructure is now significantly worn-out. For instance, at there are two ponds of toxic waste, one of which has a dam that was identified as unstable in 2019. In case of a breach, of chemical waste will pour onto the surrounding lands and the Zalizna river, poisoning water sources in the region, and reaching the Seversky Donets that flows into Russia.

Coal mines throughout eastern Ukraine have deteriorated rapidly, as active and expanded hostilities have made it difficult for maintenance projects to continue. The potential for pollution of ground and surface water throughout the entire Donbas region has been reported. When a mine is flooded, radionuclides and toxic substances contaminate underground waters, poisoning water sources of local residential areas. Eurocommission specialists registered at least 35 abandoned coal mines in Donbass, including the Yunkom coal mine, which was used for a nuclear test in 1979. The waters of Komyshuvakha river turned orange in 2021 because of leakage from the abandoned Zolotoe mine. Risks of a human-made disaster caused by the Russian invasion are growing every day that the war continues. Worst-case scenarios include pollution of the Azov sea with toxic waste.

Carbon footprint of war

The carbon footprint of this war undermines efforts towards emissions reduction. The first two years of the war have resulted in considerable releases of Greenhouse gas emissions, and many more may be released due to the need to rebuild destroyed infrastructure. Overall, it has been estimated to amounts to in carbon dioxide equivalent.

Nuclear threats

Damaged biologic systems

Fertile soils

Battles and shelling ruin fertile soils for a long time. The highly fertile chernozem, which made Ukraine one of the world's largest grain exporters, suffers from pollution with heavy metals, chemicals, lubricants, and spent fuel. Vegetation grown on contaminated land absorbs these pollutants and transfers them to humans via the food chain. According to a UN estimate, in 2022 in Donbass alone more than were rated areas of ecological catastrophe.

Research indicates that chernozem is physically damaged by tanks and heavy vehicles: their weight makes the soil clump and stick together, and earthworms and other animals that normally stir up and aerate soil are scared off by the noise. Communities of soil microbes are reduced at least for several years. Wet soils need at least four years to recover from tank traffic. Also, with the decrease of vegetation cover, pollutants penetrate easily and tend to go deeper into the ground.

Ecologists also note that an abrupt suspension of agricultural use on fields leads to uncontrolled reproduction of mice and weeds.

Water sources

The Russia–Ukraine conflict has had a profound impact on water resources and water infrastructure.

Rivers and water bodies are strategically important objects. The Dnieper, Donets, and Irpin serve as natural defences. The Black Sea also became a theatre of war. Destroyed and abandoned vehicles pollute water with leaking fuel and lubricants: fuel spills induce fires and ruin the chemical balance of water. Oil itself is highly toxic to marine wildlife and microorganisms, but also it contains hydrocarbons that dissolve pollutants such as pesticides or heavy metals and lead to their concentration in the upper layers of water.

Dam destruction causes degradation of vast territories, as well as soil and water contamination. For example, on 26 February 2022, a dam on the Irpin River

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