The environment and biodiversity suffer the ravages of the Russian invasion

Ukraine estimates the damage caused to their environment by the Russian invasion at nearly €50 billion, but the figure may not reflect the full magnitude or time it will take to heal the wounds left on their lands, waters and biodiversity, as well as in other countries.

The invaded country hopes that Russia will take responsibility for the ecological havoc caused by its army. According to the State Ecological Commission, the losses have reached about 1,907,000 million uah (48,000 million euros) only in the areas currently controlled by the Ukrainian government.

Maksym Soroka, an expert in environmental safety, views these figures with a grain of salt. He understands the need to put a figure for the losses, but warns in statements to Efe that they are likely to offer a biased image.

“In some cases, the volume of resources needed to alleviate environmental damage is tens or hundreds of times higher than estimated, while in others nature will compensate for the adverse effects”Explain.

In any case, the figures are insufficient to measure the long-term damage incurred to damaged forests, soil or biodiversity, Soroka says.

According to environmental experts, wildlife is dying in different parts of Ukraine.

An unusually high number of dolphins has washed up on the Ukrainian Black Sea coast since the start of the Russian invasion, according to Ivan Rusev, director of research at the Tuzlivski Lymany (Odesa) national park.- Estimates the total number of animals killed at 50,000 throughout the Black Sea.

He attributes this to the havoc caused by explosions and sonars that Russian ships cause to the sensitive echolocation system of its fauna.

Many animals also die in fires caused by shelling and fighting or by mines that contaminate the Ukrainian forests in the north or the fields in the south and east.

Aside from the direct losses to biodiversity, a big problem Ukraine will face in the long term is massive contamination by weapons materials. According to Soroka, this will affect the country’s soil and water, harming the quality of crops and weakening its role as “barn” international.

Successive crises caused by human intervention throughout the country are aggravating the problem.

One of them is the constant loss of water in one of the largest swamps in the country, the Kakhovka swamp, caused, according to Soroka, both by the damage suffered by the dam in Russian hands and by the deliberate actions of Russia. The situation has stabilized somewhat thanks to the recent rains, but the reservoir continues to lose water.

“The damage is already done. Highly productive fishing areas have been affected. The main agricultural areas in the south will also run out of water, leading to the disappearance of the cheap, vitamin-rich vegetables grown there that feed many Ukrainians.”it states.

Soroka also foresees a return to levels of ecological destruction not seen since Cold War times.

The new arms race, derived from the Russian invasion, will massively trigger the demand for metals, such as copper, tin or iron, which are used in the production of weapons.

“Its extraction is extremely toxic”warns Soroka, adding that the large producing countries, such as Chile or Peru, as well as other countries in Central and South America, Asia and Africa, will be disproportionately affected.

Another big problem is the lack of environmental experts in Ukraine, which will affect post-war reconstruction efforts, Soroka stresses.

“Who will make the ‘green recovery’ a reality? Entire structures of environmental specialists have been destroyed in many areas. Some have died, others are in the army, others left the country and it is unlikely that they will ever return,” the expert laments to Efe.

Source: EFE