The war has devastated Ukraine’s environment, too

Before the Russian invasion, people from nearby villages used to flock to the banks of the Oskil reservoir, which stretches for about a hundred kilometres south of Kupyansk, in eastern Ukraine, to swim, listen to birdsong and catch fish. Today, much of the area is changed beyond all recognition. Destroyed villages, recaptured by the Ukrainians during a counter-offensive four months ago, charred trees and the husks of Russian tanks line the reservoir’s eastern banks. Last spring, to prevent Russian troops from crossing the Donets River, downstream from the Oskil, Ukrainian forces blew up the reservoir’s floodgates. The move helped slow the Russian advance. But it also spelled doom for the Oskil. Over 350m cubic metres of water gushed out of the reservoir. The water level plunged, exposing great swathes of the reservoir’s bed. Birds that once nested in the area disappeared. Some 2m fish are thought to have died. Local wells have dried up.Forests ravaged by fires caused by relentless shelling, or cut down to build trenches; groundwater and soil contaminated by heavy metals and toxic chemicals from detonated munitions; and wild animals killed or driven from their habitat: these are some of the less talked-about victims of the war in Ukraine. Because about 18% of the country remains occupied by Russian forces, measuring the impact of the invasion may be impossible as long as the fighting rages. But even the fragmented data available reveal a picture of environmental catastrophe.