Ukraine’s environmental minister, Ruslan Strelets, has stated that the ongoing conflict has inflicted a staggering toll on the country’s ecosystems, with estimated environmental damage reaching 3 trillion hryvnias, equivalent to about 76 billion US dollars. He delivered these figures during the United for Justice conference held in Lviv and cited his statements to Interfax-Ukraine for the record.
Strelets noted that the losses attributed to the war include soil and air pollution, widespread fires in forests, and the destruction of valuable natural resources. He emphasized that the tally reflects damage already calculated across multiple domains of the environment, underscoring a crisis that goes beyond immediate human costs.
According to the minister, since February of the previous year, approximately 3 million hectares of Ukrainian forests have suffered damage. This area represents roughly one third of the country’s forested land. In addition, about 500,000 hectares are either under Russian control or are located in active war zones, complicating conservation and restoration efforts. The report paints a stark picture of long term ecological damage that will require significant investment and coordinated action to remediate.
The situation unfolds amid the continuing military operation conducted by the Russian Federation inside Ukraine. The action, launched on February 24, 2022, was publicly framed by Russian leadership as a step to demilitarize Ukraine and restructure its governance. In the international arena, the move prompted new sanctions from the United States and several of its allies, aimed at pressuring Moscow to alter its course and address the conflict’s broader consequences.
Observers note that the environmental toll is a critical counterpart to human and infrastructural losses, raising concerns about water quality, soil health, and the resilience of natural habitats across the region. Experts argue that recovery will require not only immediate emergency response but also long term environmental restoration plans, funding, and international cooperation to restore biodiversity, reforest degraded landscapes, and rehabilitate affected ecosystems. The full scale of the ecological impact remains a subject of ongoing assessment as monitoring teams work to document changes across affected landscapes and to guide restoration priorities.
Analysts and policymakers emphasize that accurate accounting of environmental damage is essential to mobilize resources for recovery, set restoration targets, and secure international support. The dialogue around environmental protection in wartime contexts highlights the need for robust environmental safeguards during conflicts and the importance of post conflict reconstruction strategies that prioritize sustainable use of natural resources and the restoration of critical habitats. The ongoing discussions reflect a broader push to integrate environmental considerations into national security planning and international diplomacy, ensuring that ecological health is part of the response to the war’s multifaceted damage. The attribution of losses to the conflict is based on official assessments and statements reported by media outlets following the conference in Lviv. (Attribution: Interfax-Ukraine)