Since Russia invaded Ukraine about a year ago, the civilian death toll has reached nearly 7,000 and more than 11,000 have been injured. An estimated 10,000 soldiers were killed, 30,000 were wounded, and more than 5,000 were missing. But beyond these grim human statistics, Ukraine is counting its wildlife casualties.
First, at least 700 Black Sea dolphins are known to have died as victims of acoustic trauma from sonar equipment on Russian submarines and mines. Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets said in an interview at last month’s COP15, the UN’s biodiversity talks, in Montreal that the figure may be an underestimate and that the actual number is closer to thousands.
“We dare not imagine the scale of the tragedy when our territories and seas were taken. Today, Ukraine is the most landmine-contaminated country in the world. Every landmine is the death of an animal,” he said. “Almost every week, Russia launches massive missile attacks — more than 4,700. These destroy healthy living environments, and not just human beings,” he said.
consciousness
Home to 74,000 species of animals, plants and fungi, Ukraine accounts for one-third of Europe’s biodiversity, even though Ukraine accounts for only 6 percent of the continent. About 600,000 hectares of Ukraine’s forests have been damaged by the war, about 32 percent of the country’s total forest area, Strilets said. “A lot of territory has been burned, but we don’t know how much because more than 30% of the land has been mined.”
Strilets’ mission at the UN biodiversity talks is to raise awareness of the devastation caused by conflict. “At COP15, the most important thing is to show the real state of Ukraine’s biodiversity – it is very important to communicate with colleagues and countries that support Ukraine every day,” he said.
With the assistance of the United Nations Environment Program monitoring team, the government has so far documented more than 2,200 cases of environmental damage caused by Russia, including soil, air and water pollution from military equipment, toxic chemicals and fire emissions.
“After the occupation of some areas ends, we will record more cases. This is a bad situation for the whole world – biodiversity and pollution know no borders – and other countries will feel it,” he said. Say.
occupy
Russia’s war on Ukraine has affected 20 percent of the reserve, according to the government. Many wildlife reserves of international importance are threatened with destruction, including the 2.9 million hectares of the Emerald Network (part of the European Nature Conservation Network) at risk.
More than 600,000 hectares of wetlands are threatened.These 16 ecosystems are designated as Wetlands of International Importance of international importance for its unique biodiversity. The Russians have occupied eight nature reserves and ten national parks.
