The next generation of Ukraine’s population will live “with a toxic legacy,” the UN said.
War in Ukraine with the Russian Federation is literally toxic.
This conclusion is contained in research preliminary assessment of the impact of the war in Ukraine on the environmental situation, conducted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and its partner organizations.
UNEP experts visited Ukraine for an initial study visit and say the next generation of the population of Ukraine and the region will live with a “toxic legacy”.
“Mapping (mapping the most affected areas) and initial verification of environmental hazards confirm that war is literally toxic,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
According to UNEP and partners, damage from the conflict has been inflicted in many regions of the country. “We are talking, among other things, about incidents at nuclear power plants, at energy infrastructure facilities, including oil storage tanks, oil refineries, drilling platforms, gas facilities and distribution pipelines, mines and industrial facilities, as well as enterprises of the agro-industrial complex,” said in the message.
It is noted that significant damage was also caused to the water supply infrastructure, including pumping stations, treatment and sewerage facilities.
UNEP experts report that the release of hazardous substances occurred as a result of explosions in warehouses of the agro-industrial complex, including factories for the production of fertilizers and nitric acid. “A lot of industrial facilities, warehouses and factories were damaged, where in some cases there were hazardous substances, ranging from solvents to ammonia and plastics,” the study said.
However, it is reported that in many urban areas, the removal of destroyed housing is also problematic, as hazardous materials such as asbestos can be found in the garbage.
According to UNEP, environmental pollution from the widespread use of weapons, including in populated areas, and large volumes of military waste, including destroyed military vehicles, pose a serious problem.
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Recall that in early July, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets said that, according to experts, emissions of pollutants into the air due to the destruction of oil depots by Russian invaders in our state exceeded 290 thousand tons.
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