Ukrainians demand that Russia be punished for environmental crimes
The non-profit organisation UAnimals has created a petition calling for the aggressor country to be punished for its crimes against the environment.
The petition is addressed to the UN and the European Parliament.
"We call on the European Parliament, the United Nations, the parliaments of partner states, and international organisations and institutions to condemn Russia's actions, help stop crimes against the environment, impose additional sanctions against the Russian Federation, help restore the ecological security of Ukraine and its environment, and to assist in the renewal of the Ukrainian ecosystem during the war and in the post-war period, including by reparations", UAnimals said in a statement.
Active military operations and the occupation of part of Ukraine’s territory are having a negative impact on the environment. The Russians are killing animals and destroying the environment.
UAnimals said the Russians have occupied 8 nature reserves and 12 national nature parks, and that 20% of Ukraine’s nature conservation areas are affected by military operations.
Environmentalists estimate that hundreds of thousands of wild animals (or even more) have been killed in nature parks.
At the same time, more than 6 million domestic animals have died as a result of the Russian invasion.
In addition, the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine estimates that:
- almost 183,000 sq. m of soil is polluted with harmful substances;
- more than 2 million sq. m of land is littered with the remains of destroyed objects and ammunition;
- more than 680,000 tonnes of petroleum products have been burned during shelling, which has resulted in significant air pollution;
- more than 23,000 hectares of forest have been burned by rockets or shells. It will take at least 10 years to restore some forest areas.
Due to Russian aircraft and warships, there is an oil slick on the surface of the Black Sea that covers an area of more than 1,000 sq. m. It was discovered in April.
The use of sonars attached to underwater and surface Russian boats equipped with sonar has led to a significant reduction in the population of marine mammals. At least 50,000 Black Sea dolphins have died.
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