Since 2014, conflict in Ukraine’s industrialised eastern Donbas region created a risk of environmental emergencies and will leave a lasting legacy of groundwater contamination from flooded coal mines. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, hundreds of environmentally sensitive sites have been caught up in the conflict, these include industrial and military facilities; nuclear, hydro and fossil fuel energy generating sites; water and sanitation infrastructure and ecologically sensitive natural areas. Read our dedicated joint briefings on nuclear sites, water, industry, fossil fuel facilities, the coastal and marine environment, the climate crisis and nature.
Explore examples of environmental harm in Ukraine
CEOBS has been tracking and assessing incidents in Ukraine since February 2022. This interactive map features 25 incidents from our database that help illustrate some of the types of environmental damage that have been caused or exacerbated by the conflict.
There is significant concern over the impact that Russia’s war against Ukraine has had on Black Sea dolphin and porpoise populations. Regional experts have proposed a recovery plan but as Linas Svolkinas explains, effective mitigation efforts require that we first understand conflict-linked threats.
Are you a stakeholder working on Ukraine’s green recovery? If so we would welcome your views on a project that we are working on.
In December 2024 two Russian oil tankers spilled 4,000 tonnes of heavy fuel oil in the Kerch Strait, Crimea. Persistent and difficult to clean up, the oil threatens northern Black Sea ecosystems. Iryna Babanina examines how the situation is developing six months on and how the war influenced the disaster.
Huge swathes of Ukraine’s geological heritage have been affected by fighting or militarily occupied, in many places causing irreversible damage. CEOBS’ Rob Watson and Stella Shekhunova of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine examine the nature and extent of this loss of geodiversity.
In a new report Norwegian People’s Aid and CEOBS highlight significant pollution, infrastructure damage, and threats to agriculture and ecosystems caused by the use of explosive weapons in Ukraine’s Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
As part of the continual refinement of our remote assessment methodology for our Ukraine incident database, we often integrate new features and tools. Rob Watson and Jay Lindle introduce our latest project – a map of how vulnerable Ukraine’s groundwater is to pollution caused by the conflict.
Part 1 of a joint open source investigation by the Ukrainian Archive and CEOBS into the recurring Russian attacks on Ukraine’s Kremenchuk Oil Refinery, which focuses on air pollution and examines the applicable legal framework.
Since February 2022, Ukraine has sought to attract international investment and political partnerships by licensing deposits of critical minerals. In this analysis, Iryna Babanina and Rob Watson examine how the demands of the conflict, economy and recovery are exacerbating the threats that their exploitation could pose for Ukraine’s environment.
Illustrated overview of the environmental damage caused by the war against Ukraine during its first 12 months, plus recommendations for how it should be addressed.
Papers prepared by CEOBS and Zoï Environment Network that were commissioned as a contribution to Ukraine’s High-Level Working Group on the Environmental Consequences of the War, they assess Ukraine’s environmental monitoring landscape, and priorities to restore its natural environment.
Наш сьомий випуск спільних брифінгів CEOBS та Zoï Environment Network щодо України досліджує вплив конфлікту на екосистеми та біорізноманіття України, а також важливість відновлення, дружнього до природи.
Our seventh in a series of joint CEOBS-Zoï Environment Network briefings on Ukraine explores how the conflict is affecting Ukraine’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and the importance of ensuring a nature positive recovery.
Наш шостий випуск із серії екологічних брифінгів CEOBS та Zoï Environment Network про Україну досліджує те, як конфлікт впливає на глобальний клімат, і те, яких заходів вживає Україна для зменшення кількості викидів та адаптації до кліматичної кризи.
Our sixth in a series of joint CEOBS-Zoï Environment Network briefings on Ukraine explores how the conflict is affecting the global climate, and Ukraine’s efforts to mitigate its emissions and adapt to the climate crisis.
War in Ukraine has made it vital that we understand where its ecologically important areas are. We’ve collaborated with the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group and Zoï Environment Network to build the most comprehensive digital map available of its most important areas for nature.
Following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, CEOBS was asked by UNEP to provide an initial assessment of the potential risks to the environment. Leon Moreland introduces the findings of our rapid analysis, situating them in the wider environmental context of the disaster.
Joint statement on the first anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine with recommendations for the international community aimed at mitigating harm, at preventing further environmental degradation, and at ensuring the future restoration of Ukraine’s environment.
Наш п’ятий випуск серії бюлетенів Обсерваторії конфліктів та довкілля / Екологічної мережі «Зой» про Україну досліджує те, як військові дії впливають на прибережні та морські екосистеми, а також містить аналіз окремих інцидентів забруднення Бузького лиману, на півдні від Миколаєва.
Our fifth in a series of joint CEOBS-Zoï Environment Network briefings on Ukraine explores how the conflict is affecting coastal and marine ecosystems, and analyses a series of pollution incidents in the Buh Estuary south of Mykolaiv.
Our fourth in a series of joint CEOBS-Zoï Environment Network briefings on Ukraine explores how the conflict has impacted fossil fuel infrastructure across the country, and features a deep dive into the immediate and reverberating environmental effects of a fuel depot attack.
Using the example of Ukraine, this paper explores how remote data collection and data from mine action operations can be used to better address the environmental consequences of the use of explosive weapons.
Our third in a series of joint CEOBS-Zoï Environment Network briefings on Ukraine explores how the conflict has impacted industrial sites across the country, and features a remote assessment of the notorious Azovstal iron and steelworks in Mariupol.
This second in our series of joint CEOBS-Zoï Environment Network briefings on Ukraine explores how the conflict has impacted Ukraine’s water infrastructure and resources, harming people and ecosystems.
This first in a series of joint CEOBS-Zoï Environment Network briefings on Ukraine explores how the conflict has impacted Ukraine’s nuclear facilities, threatening people and the environment.
A brief introductory overview of the environmental dimensions of the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region, with facts, figures and further reading.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has encouraged a rapid increase in the deployment of drones that use fibre optic cables to protect them from being jammed or downed by electronic warfare: the drones trail kilometres of plastic cable across frontlines – what are the environmental risks of this tech?
CEOBS has been remotely tracking and assessing environmentally-relevant incidents in Ukraine since February 2022. We share our data with relevant stakeholders, it informs our research and advocacy activities, and it is our hope that the dataset will also contribute to Ukraine’s green recovery. We’ve now used it to create an interactive map.
An unprecedented volume of environmental data is being gathered on the invasion of Ukraine. Doug Weir explores what kind of data is being gathered, and by whom, as well as the environmental narratives that are developing and the implications of this level of documentation.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a stark reminder of the human and environmental costs of armed conflict. In this post, Rachel Killean examines the legal avenues that could be open for Ukraine in seeking accountability and redress for environmental damage.
This update provides an overview of some of the environmental trends caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. It builds on our initial rapid assessment, which was published on Feb 25th.
Rapid overview of emerging environmental issues and perspectives arising from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
How does environmental governance function in areas that are governed by non-state actors during conflicts? Olga Shashkina has explored this question in eastern Ukraine, where two new republics declared themselves when the Ukrainian government lost control of the region.
This blog investigates a potential case of mine water flooding in eastern Ukraine, at a coal mine close to the location of an experimental nuclear detonation in the 1970s. Many mines have been closed during the conflict and with water pumping stopped there are widespread risks from pollution, methane leaks and subsidence.
Over the summer, the International Law Commission has strengthened its draft principles on environmental protection in situations of occupation. In this blog, CEOBS teams up with Al-Haq to review the revised principles against current cases of occupation to identify any further improvements that could be made.
Since 2015, a number of different actors have published data on the environmental impact of the conflict in Ukraine. Doug Weir and Nickolai Denisov take a look at the different methodologies that have been used to monitor environmental harm, their findings, and what the studies tell us about how monitoring could be improved.
With the Ukraine conflict’s environment risks again in the news, Zoï Environment Network has released new maps on the environmental consequences of the conflict. Both sides are increasingly conscious of the humanitarian and ecological impact of the war and plans to minimise risks and encourage sustainable reconstruction are being promoted. But without a comprehensive assessment of the damage, such proposals are of limited value.
The environmental costs of the ongoing Ukraine conflict are still to be fully quantified but an EU-UN-World Bank needs assessment has called for US$30m to fund urgent environmental recovery over the next two years. With UNEP still unable to assess or begin restoring the damage on the ground due to insecurity, this sum, which already far exceeds that for UXO management is only likely to grow.
With 50 recommendations across three priority areas: monitoring, accountability and recovery, this compact by the High Level Working Group on the Environment Consequences of the War maps out environmental priorities for Ukraine.
The assessment encompasses damage caused both upstream and downstream, including hydrological and geomorphic impacts, chemical contamination, waste, and ecological damage, including to protected areas.
939 millions tons of industrial waste are stored in tailings facilities in Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts, the conflict is increasing the risk of a serious environmental emergency through direct damage, and by mines and heavy fighting obstructing access for assessments and repairs.
To mark five years of conflict the OSCE Project Coordinator for Ukraine has published a series of infographics detailing the environmental consequences of the conflict in Ukraine’s Donbas region.
The challenges for the water system eastern Ukraine are significant and remain largely unchanged since they were first assessed by UNICEF in 2017.
A report assessing how the conflict in eastern Ukraine has impacted the quality of surface and groundwaters in the Siverskyi Donets basin, which is intersected by the Ukraine conflict’s frontline.
This report provides an overview of OSCE SMM-facilitation and monitoring of infrastructure repair and maintenance in eastern Ukraine (January 2017 – August 2018).
Conflicts like the ones in the Ukraine, Iraq, and Syria show how wartime damage to the environment can have long-term consequences for countries as they seek to recover.
A recurring theme in the conversations is that the problem with the environment was that once it would go wrong, it would go wrong in a very destructive way.
The publication “Environmental Assessment and Recovery Priorities for Eastern Ukraine” incorporates existing information from various sources on impact and threats to the environment posed by a conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
The armed conflict in eastern Ukraine has not only led to heavy casualties, but also caused significant damage to ecosystems and natural resources as a result of the violation of international principles of and national law.
UN experts on human rights and hazardous substances, and safe drinking water and sanitation, raise concerns over the potential risks from damage to water infrastructure in the Donbas region.
The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue’s assessment has a particular focus on the threats posed by industrial facilities and coal mines in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region.
The then Austrian Foreign Minister and Chair of the OSCE Sebastian Kurz on the environmental risks being created by the conflict in Ukraine.
The aim of the study was to create conditions for a wide public discussion about the actual economic, environmental and social consequences of coal mining in Donbas during the war
Large-scale heavy industry in the Donbas region adds to the risks posed to civilians through the risk of environmental pollution and related health issues. This article focuses on the often overlooked, or at minimum under-reported, risks of the impact of the conflict on the environment.
A steady uptick in shelling along front lines in eastern Ukraine is threatening numerous industrial facilities that, if damaged, could trigger severe environmental and humanitarian consequences, according to a new report by an environmental nonprofit organization.
Water filtration plants in Ukraine have been repeatedly damaged by shelling. How big a risk does the chlorine gas stored at these sites present?
This article analyses the factors influencing the conservation status of protected areas in Ukraine caused by the unstable political situation in the country in the years 2014‐2016, including military action and occupation of the eastern part of Ukraine by Russian troops, and annexation of the Crimean Peninsula and increasing military activity of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
This report examines how the right to an adequate standard of living has been affected by the conduct of hostilities, particularly access to sufficient, safe, acceptable and affordable water for personal and domestic use.
This study found that the conflict had exacerbated existing pollution in the Donbas region and caused further environmental damage and loss.
Report by the Ukrainian NGO Environment People Law which was one of the first to raise the alarm about the environmental consequences of the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
