RUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN WAR: ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT

Abstract

According to the results of the study of the nature protection aspect of the russian-Ukrainian war, it was established that since 2014, the russian federation illegally captured and destroyed about 500 objects of the nature reserve fund of Ukraine, with a total area of over 1.2 million hectares. Came under occupation 3 Biosphere Reserves, 14 Nature Reserves, 19 National Natural Parks, dozens Regional Landscape Parks, hundreds Reserves, Sights Nature, Reserve Tracts, Botanical gardens, Dendrological parks, Zoological parks and Parks-sights of garden and park art. Famous protected objects suffered from russian military aggression: Biosphere Reserve «Askania-Nova», Chornomorskyi Biosphere Reserve, National Natural Parks «Slobozhanskyi», «Gomilshan Lisy», «Svyati Hory», «Meotida», «Oleshkivsʹki Pisky», Nature Reserve «Khomutovsky Step». Practically all types of biodiversity in the protected areas have been destroyed, unique landscapes are disturbed, the scientific achievements of specialists of nature-reserved objects were liquidated or exported. Cases of mining of protected areas have been recorded, uncontrolled deforestation, destruction of rare species of flora and fauna, etc.
 At the first stage of military aggression, in 2014, russia illegally occupied 100% of the natural reserve fund of the Crimean peninsula, 25.2% of the nature reserve fund of Donetsk region and 23.8% of the nature reserve fund of Luhansk region. In the second stage of aggression and full-scale war against Ukraine, from February 24, 2022, the russian federation completely seized all territories and objects of the nature reserve fund of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, as well as a significant part of valuable nature conservation of Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions. As of September 1, 2022, a large part of the territory of Ukraine, including nature conservation areas, is freed from occupation. But it is still quite difficult to assess the damage caused to the national nature reserve fund. Therefore, the prospect of further scientific-practical research remains the assessment of damage caused to protected objects and territories in the east and south of Ukraine.
 Key words: war, russian aggression, national natural parks, nature reserves, biosphere reserves, flora, fauna.