The environmental consequences of the war against Ukraine: Preliminary 12-month assessment, summary and recommendations
Download as PDF · Published: March, 2024 · Categories: Publications, Ukraine
About this report
Russia’s war against Ukraine is having devastating humanitarian, social, economic and environmental consequences. This report contributes to response and recovery planning in Ukraine by providing a preliminary assessment of the environmental damage and risks caused between February 2022 and February 2023.
The report covers the following thematic areas: the environmental context before February 2022; military conduct; the impacts of the war on industrial and energy infrastructure, nuclear facilities and other radioactive sources, the built environment, the rural environment, freshwater resources and infrastructure, the coastal and marine environment, and on the global climate and Ukraine’s climate objectives; as well as the evolving legal and regulatory frameworks.
The consequences of environmental destruction and degradation can take months or years to materialise, risks often compound and escalate when multiple and interrelated incidents take place. Capturing the full extent of the environmental consequences of the war will require continuous monitoring and regular reviews, also taking into account the specific impacts of the war on gender.
The report and its visualisations were produced by the Conflict and Environment Observatory and Zoï Environment Network, with contributions from the OSCE’s expert network. This publication has been prepared with the support of the OSCE’s extra-budgetary project “Assessment of the Environmental Impacts of the War Against Ukraine and Options for Remediation.”
