THE WAR CONSEQUENCES ON NATURAL RESOURCES OF UKRAINE: ANALYSES AND METHODOLOGIES
Authors: Makarenko N. , Strokal V. , Berezhniak Ye. , Bondar V. , Pavliuk S. , Vagaliuk L. , Naumovska O. , Ladyka M. , Kovpak A. 
Published: November 2022

The natural environment of Ukraine has been negatively affected by russian military aggression, which began in 2014 and turned into a full-scale war in 2022. Since 2014, hostilities have been taking place on the territory of Donbas, where the norms of environmental safety were grossly violated in the temporarily occupied Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The full-scale invasion of Russian forces into Ukraine expanded the spectrum of environmental problems, deepened and exacerbated their dangerous manifestations. Specialists came to the conclusion that in many cases the consequences of the military activities of the russian federation for the environment of Ukraine can be classified as environmental crimes.

Analysis of the situation showed that as a result of hostilities, the water and soil environment underwent significant changes, the integrity of landscapes and ecosystems was violated, and various types of pollution, ruinoun and destruction of valuable biological resources took place.

It has been established that as a result of bombardment, shelling with rockets, mines, artillery shells, the movement of heavy equipment, and the construction of fortifications, the soil resources of Ukraine are being destroyed. At the same time, the ruts formation of various sizes and configurations leads to a violation of the natural integrity of the soils genetic horizons and the geological structure of the parent rocks upper part, their contamination with fuel and lubricants, petroleum products, heavy metals (Pb. Cu, V, etc.), sulfur compounds and with radioactive substances, which significantly affects the deterioration of the physico-chemical and agrochemical characteristics of the upper layers of the soil, the reduction of their biological activity and the drop in fertility.

Military operations led to the destruction of water infrastructure (water treatment facilities, dams, canals), which, in turn, caused the deterioration of the water resources quality. The basins of the Dnipro, Don, and Siverskyi Donets rivers were the most affected. The analysis of information sources made it possible to establish that the military aggression of the russian federation can be qualified as water terrorism, the facts of which were manifested as a result of the seizure of the Kakhovska HPP and the North Crimean Canal.

Military actions covered about 1/3 of the entire nature reserve fund of Ukraine. A significant number of natural and biosphere reserves, national and regional natural parks suffered and continue to suffer significant damage as a result of russian aggression. About 200 territories of the Emerald Network, which protects the brown bear, black stork, lynx, white-tailed eagle and other species of animals and plants (territories defined by the Berne Convention), are under threat of destruction. The hostilities partially or completely destroyed the habitats and migration corridors of rare animal species, including the flight paths of birds in the Western-Palearctic and Afro-Eurasian directions. In many regions of Ukraine, a lot of unexploded ammunition remains, that poses an extreme danger to the existence of wild animals.

As a result of the military aggression of the russian federation, significant destruction of unique landscapes, large forest massifs and steppe territories, partial or complete disruption of trophic chains, and, accordingly, successional changes in ecosystems leading to their simplification and weakening are noted. Agro-ecosystems, farmlands, where the sowing campaign was disrupted in the spring, and large areas of ready-to-harvest agricultural raw materials were burned in the summer, are also damaged. Many lands fell into the zone of direct military operations or became the object of targeted destruction through mining and intensive shelling by the enemy, which, in turn, may threaten a food crisis not only in Ukraine, but also in the world.

The methodology of environmental assessment of the impact of military activities on natural resources has not been developed, there are only separate fragmentary approaches and methods. In our opinion, it should be based, first of all, on the principles of ecological systemology and take into account the study of ecosystems of different levels of organization and specialization. This will make it possible to carry out research in accordance with the hierarchy "from simple to complex" and to move from environmental disturbances at the local level, taking into account a separate component of the ecosystem, to the level of natural complexes. At the same time, it is advisable to use complex and integral methods of assessing environmental violations, which will allow them to be grouped according to the degree of manifestation and distribution; conduct an expert assessment followed by their ranking by level of importance; use cartographic remote analysis methods and geo-information systems with access to relevant map schemes. It is necessary to form databases for monitoring in space and time, which will allow developing scenarios of the various processes development and forecasting probable risks and consequences; take into account short-term and remote consequences, direct and indirect impact of military aggression.

Systematic research on environmental assessment should become the basis of the scientifically based recommendations development for the restoration of natural resources, ecosystems and complexes at the local and regional levels.