Military actions are causing serious environmental damage to Ukraine, and Donbass is on the verge of an environmental disaster, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
About it UN News reports.
“Today the war is destroying the environment in Ukraine. According to experts from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), as a result of the conflict in Donbass, ecosystems have been destroyed on an area of at least 530 thousand hectares, including 18 nature reserves with a total area of 80 thousand hectares. In addition, 150 thousand hectares of forests were damaged - 12 thousand forest fires are still burning in the territory adjacent to the combat zone,” experts note.
The UN insists that environmental protection must be part of conflict prevention efforts and peacekeeping strategies.
“Donbass is on the verge of an environmental disaster, the cause of which is air, soil and water pollution as a result of the explosion of a large number of ammunition and the flooding of industrial enterprises. It is urgent to assess the environmental damage caused by the armed conflict and reduce it to a minimum,” said UNEP expert Leila Urekenova.
According to experts, industrial enterprises in the eastern region of the country pose a potential threat to human health and nature.
“The region is home to 5,5 thousand industrial enterprises and infrastructure facilities, which, if damaged, will become a source of significant damage to the environment. Pollution of rivers, including the Don, threatens human health. The war zone, including farmland, is littered with unexploded ordnance that will take years or even decades to clear,” the UN notes.