Russian-Ukrainian war. Environmental news.
Russia’s war against Ukraine has been going on for more than a month. We continue to observe the situation and collect news about environmental issues in Ukraine caused by war.
Zoï Environment Network has documented the environmental impacts of conflict in Donbas since 2014. On 23d of March, the organization published an updated map of the devastating environmental impacts of the war in Ukraine. Here is the latest information collected from satellite data and Ukrainian protected areas workers.
Check the level of radiation pollution in real-time mode
You can check the level of radiation pollution in different areas of Ukraine in real-time by the link: https://www.saveecobot.com/radiation-maps. For now the map is availble only in Ukrainian, but we hope that English version is coming soon.
To provide the public with the most reliable information and protect the population on time, the Ukrainian Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources together with the SaveDnipro NGO on Saveecobot collected all relevant data on a single radiation background.
A flock of geese shot down the Russian military aircraft
In the last two weeks in Ukrainian news was popular the article about a flock of geese which hilted the Russian military aircraft near Kherson. According to Ruslan Strelets, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the Russian aircraft was in a swamp after several wild geese got into its engine. He noted that wild goose populations in Ukraine are protected by environmental legislation.
He noted that wild goose populations in Ukraine are protected by environmental legislation. Therefore, the occupier will have to answer for all the killings of animals and birds and the destruction of the environment in Ukraine.
We are very sorry for these beautiful birds, which destroyed the whole plane at the cost of their own lives. The occupiers will have to answer for all the killings of animals and birds and the destruction of the environment in Ukraine!
What happened to birds population under the war?
On the 26th of March, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group published an analytical note about possible how the Russian war against Ukraine affected the population of birds in Ukraine.
The experts from the UNCG emphasized that the largest part of war consequences will be found out only after the end of war actions or even years later as happened to the Donetsk region. For now, the party occupied the Azov-Black region is home to thousands of colonies of different species of martins and terns, waders, and other wetland birds. As a result, nature reserve protection services are often unable to perform their functions.
Another vulnerable group of birds from hostilities are species that nest in forests. The greatest risks in such ecosystems for birds are fear of fighting, deforestation, fire due to constant shelling. In the forests, area are significant nesting populations from the Ukrainian Red Book such as black stork (Ciconia nigra), small eagle (Aquila pomarina), white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), and others. They are potentially affected by the above factors, but are likely to be local and will not have a significant impact on populations.
Don’t forget to visit our page #NGOs4Ukraine and make a donation to support Ukraine directly. You can donate for medical aid, food for animals in the zoos or help for protected areas. All money will go directly to Ukrainian funds.
