A State as a Subject of Environmental Terrorism: Case Study of an Intrastate Armed Conflict in Ukraine

Abstract

The essence of the phenomenon of «environmental terrorism» is investigated. Environmental terrorism is a specific deliberate action aimed indirectly, through the environment, to the deterioration of its quality characteristics, which creates a threat to human security and the environment itself. It is shown that domestic environmental terrorism has now found its application as an instrument of civil war. In its confrontation with the republics, Ukraine at the state level widely uses terrorist acts, the purpose of which is to create environmental threats for the citizens of these republics. The paper presents the facts of environmental terrorism by the state of Ukraine, as a result of which the fundamental right of citizens of the Donetsk People’s Republic and the Luhansk People’s Republic to a healthy environment and sustainable development is violated. It is shown that almost no environmental terrorist acts carried out against citizens of the republics have found adequate condemnation at the international level, which indicates the inefficiency of the system for protecting fundamental human rights.