Briefing on the environmental damage caused by the Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

Meanwhile, the aggressor country is planning another attack, this time targeting the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

As of June 26, the water level in the Dnipro River near Kherson has returned to normal and is 0.33 meters (according to the Baltic system). Overall, since June 8, the water level has decreased by over 5.35 meters from its maximum level of 5.68 meters. As of June 16, the Dnipro River returned to its regular riverbed near the city of Kherson. Low-lying areas of the terrain remain flooded, as the natural flow of water is blocked.

In the area of the Lower Dnipro Nature Park, the water is also gradually receding. Currently, the average water level is approximately 0.36 meters. The shallowing of the water continues in the aquatic area of the Great Meadow National Park. In the Kamianska Sich National Park, the water level has decreased by approximately 13 meters.

Minister Ruslan Strilets, in his online address to the EU countries’ ministers of environmental protection informed about the environmental consequences of the Kakhovka dam blast. The Minister expressed gratitude to his colleagues and the European Commission for supporting Ukraine. He noted that Ukraine, together with its partner countries, had developed unique methodologies to assess the environmental damage caused by the war. Over the course of more than a year of the full-scale war, the estimated losses have already exceeded EUR 52 billion.

"Unfortunately, there are things that we will never be able to restore. These are the ecosystems that were washed away by the flood into the Black Sea after the Kakhovka dam blast. These are 20,000 wild animals that presumably died. These are endemic species that were found only in southern Ukraine. These are losses that cannot be evaluated in terms of monetary value," emphasized Ruslan Strilets.

Nuclear and radiation safety threats

On June 22, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Russia is considering a scenario of a terrorist attack at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with radiation leakage.

"Unfortunately, I have repeatedly had to remind that radiation has no state borders. And who it will hit is determined only by the wind direction. We share all available information with our partners – everyone in the world. All the evidence. Europe, America, China, Brazil, India, the Arab world, Africa – all countries, absolutely everyone should know this. International organizations. Absolutely everyone. There should never be any terrorist attacks on nuclear power plants anywhere. This time it should not be like with Kakhovka – the world has been warned, so the world can and must act," emphasized the President of Ukraine.

According to Energoatom, despite the Russian occupiers' attack on the Kakhovka dam, the situation at ZNPP remains under control. As of June 22, a slight decrease in the water level in the cooling pond is recorded. Currently, it stands at 16.61 meters, which is sufficient to meet the plant's needs.
The water level in the canal, from which the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant reservoir is replenished if necessary, is 11.15 meters. Over the recent period, the water level in the canal has not significantly decreased, and its indicators are no longer dependent on fluctuations in the Kakhovka reservoir. The units of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant have not been operational since September 2022, so there is no active evaporation of water from the cooling pond.

Recent attacks on infrastructure and industrial sites

On June 17, Russian occupiers shelled peaceful settlements in the Kherson region 68 times. One person was killed, and 4 (including a child) were injured.

On June 18, Russians carried out 105 strikes on 22 cities and villages in the Zaporizhzhia region. The destruction of 14 civilian facilities was recorded.

On June 19, Russia once again shelled Kherson, causing several fires: a gas reservoir caught fire at one of the city's gas stations, and a fire broke out on the territory of one of the enterprises.

On June 20, Russian forces:

• carried out a kamikaze drone attack on a critical infrastructure target in Lviv.
• launched an attack on Zaporizhzhia using Iskander-M/S-300 missiles, targeting the communication, property, and equipment of agricultural and farming enterprises.

On June 21, the Russian military once again launched a UAV attack on Ukraine. All six kamikaze drones were destroyed in the Khmelnytskyi region.During the night attack on June 22, Russian drones and missiles targeted critical infrastructure in Ukraine. The missiles were shot down over the Dnipropetrovsk region.According to a report by the United Nations Development Programme, as a result of Russian attacks, Ukraine’s power system remains extremely vulnerable and continues to operate in emergency mode. Generation capacity has decreased by more than half, from 37.6 GW to 18.3 GW as of 30 April 2023.Up to 40 percent of renewable energy facilities had been affected in various ways, primarily in Ukraine’s southern and southeastern regions. Wind and solar power generation decreased by a third. A more accurate assessment of the damage will be possible after these territories return under the control of the Government of Ukraine.The available generation capacity from renewable sources decreased from 8.2 GW at the end of 2021 to 6.3 GW. Most of the damage occurred due to the placement of generation facilities in combat zones or a change in their control in the first months of the full-scale invasion.In the mid-term, the loss of obsolete coal-fired generation opens an opportunity for their replacement using greener alternatives and decentralizing generation capacities.

Pollution caused directly by hostilities

According to the State Emergency Service of Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, to June 23, 2023, 403,551 explosive objects were neutralized on the territory of Ukraine. An area of 904 square kilometers has been surveyed.

Large areas of Ukraine have experienced significant damage to the surface soil layer as a result of the construction of fortifications, the explosion, and burning of munitions, military maneuvers, etc.

According to estimates by the Kyiv School of Economics and the Zoï Environment Network, 186,000 square kilometers of land, or almost 31% of Ukraine’s territory, are at risk of damage and pollution. Of this, more than 20,000 square kilometers are more than 75% damaged. The Donetsk, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhzhya regions have suffered the most damage. This puts the use of damaged land at risk and requires reclamation, demining, and munitions clearance.

Damage to natural reserves and protected ecosystems

The decrease in water levels due to the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam has led to a significant reduction in the surface area of the Kakhovka water reservoir. 25 vulnerable types of wildlife habitats, which require protection according to Resolution 4 of the Bern Convention's Standing Committee, as well as 82 species of animals and plants protected under Resolution 6 of the Bern Convention's Standing Committee, are at risk. Additionally, according to the database of the Council of Europe, populations of 251 other species of wild animals and plants, with various conservation statuses according to national or international red lists or protected under international law, are also at risk.

As a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam, the water level continues to decrease in the Great Meadow National Park. In the Kamianska Sich National Park, the water level is estimated to have dropped by over 13 meters.

The reduction in the water surface area will result in the drying out of extensive areas, leading to the mass death of fish and other aquatic organisms, the loss of spawning grounds for fish, as well as the feeding base for water birds in the wetland complex protected by the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals and the African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement. In addition to the aquatic ecosystems, coastal areas will also suffer significant damage to biodiversity. An accurate assessment of the biodiversity losses is currently not possible, and detailed scientific surveys of the affected areas will be required after the end of the war.

According to the Forests of Ukraine State Enterprise, in the Mykolaiv region, 943 hectares of forests remain flooded two weeks after the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam blast. The highest figure is in the Kinburn and Vasylivsky forestry divisions of the Kinburn Spit, with 200 and 700 hectares respectively. During the peak rise in water levels in the water bodies of the Mykolaiv region, nearly 3,000 hectares of forest areas were affected by flooding.

According to experts from the Ministry of Environmental Protection, the short-term consequences for forests resulting from the Kakhovka dam blast include:

• root decay and death of trees due to lack of oxygen.
• deterioration of the health of trees due to widespread diseases and pests.
• degradation of soil quality and a decrease in its fertility, as well as the spread of erosion processes.
• loss of biodiversity in forests and adjacent landscapes.

The long-term consequences (over 1 year) include:

• increased desertification.
• changes in the hydrological regime and drying out of plantations due to the lowering of groundwater levels.
• threat to ecosystem services provided by forests (water conservation, soil protection against water and wind erosion, air purification, oxygen production, and carbon absorption).
• possible increase in fire hazards due to the lowering of groundwater levels in coniferous plantations.

Damage to freshwater resources

To monitor changes in the quality of water resources due to the Kakhovka dam blast, agencies subordinated to the Ministry of Environmental Protection analyze the indicators of organic and biogenic pollution.

The dissolved oxygen content indicator is crucial for the aquatic habitat. Insufficient oxygen levels can lead to suffocation and fish mortality. As of June 19, 2023, deviations from the normal level of dissolved oxygen content, which should be no less than 4 mgO2/dm3, have been observed in the water of the Dnipro River within the city of Zaporizhzhia, ranging from 3.84 mg/dm3 to 3.57 mg/dm3, as well as in the Ingulets River with a level of 3.70 mg/dm3.

The results of the conducted research on selected samples have revealed exceedances of the maximum permissible: the total iron concentration was exceeded twice in the Dnipro River outside the city of Kherson and 2.1 times in the Ingulets River.

On June 18, the samples taken in the Ingulets River near the village of Tamarine showed an excess of chlorides by 1.71 times, indicating the river's return to its normal state. No exceedances of maximum permissible concentrations of pollutants in the water were found in the Dnipro-Bug and Bug estuaries. However, the dissolved oxygen content is decreasing, which may lead to suffocation and fish mortality.

The sample results published on June 23 indicate a deteriorating trend in water quality in the Ingulets River and the Southern Bug River in terms of chemical and physicochemical indicators. There is an increase in nitrite levels potentially associated with water washing out the pollutants from the soil.

Scientists from the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute have processed multispectral images of the Kakhovka Reservoir provided by the European Space Agency. According to this data, the total water surface area of the Kakhovka Reservoir as of June 20 is 509.23 km2. This is less than the corresponding data from three days ago. On June 17, the water’s surface area was 655 km2. Thus, in three days, the reservoir area has further decreased by 22%. Consequently, only 24% of its original area as of June 5 is currently covered by water. A significant portion of the reservoir area appears light brown, which is characteristic of a dry surface. Therefore, a substantial part of the reservoir is not only devoid of water but has physically dried up.

Black and Azov Seas

According to the research on the waters of the Black Sea, conducted on June 17, it was found that its salinity in the area near the village of Nova Dofinivka is 2.1 times lower than the norm, at Langeron Beach in Odesa it is 2.35 times lower, and at the 16th Station of Big Fontan Beach in Odesa, it is 2.35 times lower. The results of Black Sea water samples published on June 23 showed a gradual increase in the salinity of the seawater.

The map below from a report based on data from UNOSAT shows the sediments run off and spread from the Dnipro River into the Black Sea. Highly sediment-contaminated water (marked with yellow and brown), potentially contaminated with sewage, chemicals, and landmine residues spread fast over the Northern part of the Black Sea reaching Odesa and Chornomorsk cities on the eastern side of the Black Sea, as visible on the image from June 9.

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