Russia's war in Ukraine sparks massive ecological disaster
6:33 AM EDT, June 14, 2024
The Ukrainian Ministry of Environment and local NGOs highlight a significant ecological disaster risk. They claim that Russia's actions in Ukraine have released harmful compounds and gases into the atmosphere through bombings and arson, exacerbating the climate crisis.
The war in Ukraine has been ongoing for over two years. During this time, in the war-affected areas, in Russia, and countries falling victim to hybrid warfare, there have been tens of thousands of hazardous fires. This, combined with numerous bombings and the enormous fuel consumption by military equipment, contributes to the ecological disaster.
A report from the Ukrainian ministry on this topic has been published, cited by "The Guardian." According to the report, Ukrainians state that 175 million short tons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere due to the ongoing war.
Billions of litres of fuel used by military vehicles, a million hectares of fields and forests set ablaze, hundreds of oil and gas structures blown up and vast amounts of steel and cement used to fortify hundreds of miles of front lines—these are cited by "The Guardian" as reasons for such high emissions, according to the report's creators.
Emissions equivalent to those produced by 90 million cars
The scale of the problem, with such a large amount of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere, is enormous. The mere fact that it is equivalent to the emissions produced by 90 million cars or all of the Netherlands in a year is alarming.
Based on the social costs for emitted greenhouse gases adopted by the EU at $185 per ton, it was found that the war caused $32 billion in damages in two years.
However, this is not the final cost, as the conflict in Ukraine is still ongoing, and the largest source of emissions remains active. The war's end will not conclude this process because a large portion of the 175 million short tons also includes emissions from the production of steel and concrete needed to rebuild the country.
Including the damage to nature likely caused by the deliberate damage to the underwater gas pipeline by Russians, the scale of destruction is enormous. According to the creators of the discussed report, Vladimir Putin is responsible for these damages.
