Destruction of Kharkiv shopping mall incurs over 68 million dollars’ worth of environmental costs

YANA OSADCHA – WEDNESDAY, 22 JUNE 2022

The State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine reports that the cost of environmental damage as a result of the destruction of Barabashovo shopping mall in Kharkiv [caused by a Russian attack – ed.] amounts to almost 2 billion hryvnias [approximately 68 million dollars – ed.].

Russian artillery shelling of Kharkiv in March 2022 caused a large fire to break out in Kharkiv’s famous Barabashovo shopping mall.

Trading pavilions, office premises and warehouses with a total volume of over 53,440 cubic metres all burned down as a result of the attack. It took firefighters and municipal services several days to extinguish the fire.

"The fire caused uncontrollable emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere and the spread of plastic, metal, glass, fabric and wood waste over an area of 32,388 square metres," the inspectorate reported.

Meanwhile, there may be infectious disease outbreaks this summer in Mariupol, particularly cholera, that may cause thousands of deaths.