The war in Ukraine does not seem to be leading to a peaceful settlement. But even if, by a magic wand, bombs stopped falling, factories and refineries were destroyed, the Ukrainian people would still not be safe. The reason is the environmental impact on people, animals and nature.

A related study was presented at the Dubai Conference on Climate Change last December. The conclusion he reaches is that in the first year and a half of the war they were liberated 150 million tons of CO2, which damage the climate just as much Belgium’s total CO2 emissions for one year.

Everything contaminated

Recent analysis by a US-Ukrainian research team provides more detailed data: Landscape destruction, shelling, forest fires, deforestation and pollution have affected 30% of Ukraine’s protected areas. The team led by Daniel Hrykhorstuk, emeritus professor at the Institute of Environmental and Occupational Safety and Epidemiology at the University of Illinois School of Public Health in the US, fears that the ecological disasters will continue, especially after Russia’s control of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant and of the destruction of the Kahovka dam. Besides the air, water and soil are contaminated with chemicals on a large scale, and 30% of Ukraine is contaminated with mines and munitions that have not exploded. The most dangerous substances in ammunition are explosives and heavy metals.

“We know from feeding studies on rats and mice and from investigations in explosives factories that TNT, based on nitroglycerin, is very toxic,” Professor Edmund Mazer told Deutsche Welle. “TNT is toxic to all kinds of living organisms. In marine organisms we know it affects reproduction and growth and from dietary studies we know TNT is carcinogenic. And that’s a big problem, that TNT is carcinogenic.” Edmund Mazer is Director of the Toxicology Institute at Kiel University Hospital. His research focuses on the effects of munitions that fell in the German part of the North and Baltic Seas after B World War 1. 1.6 million tons are rusting there.

Responsibility for the environment as well

“But heavy metals, especially arsenic, are also carcinogenic” says. “We have other substances, such as cadmium, which is also carcinogenic and damages the kidneys. But above all it is mercury. We know that mercury damages nerve cells and can lead to malformations, especially in unborn children. As for arsenic, which is a cytotoxin, it can damage the liver and lungs, it is also carcinogenic, and it can also lead to developmental disorders in children. Lead can cause colic, constrict blood vessels, increase blood pressure, and can also damage nerve cells. It attaches to red blood cells and can lead to miscarriages and developmental disorders.” Kateryna Smirnova of the Sokolovsky Institute of Soil Science and Agrochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, one of the leading scientific institutions for soil protection in Ukraine, reports that soil samples from the Kharkiv region have already shown that the concentration of carcinogenic heavy metals such as lead and cadmium is elevated.The example of Ukraine demonstrates the enormous cost of the destruction caused by war.

According to the latest analysis, the war in Ukraine has caused more than $56.4 billion in environmental damage. The researchers, led by Daniel Hryhorstuk from the University of Illinois, call for a joint analysis of the environmental consequences of all armed conflicts and more effective measures to protect the environment during war. “These measures include holding accountable those responsible for the destruction of the environment during a war and those who instigate a war,” the appeal states.