Ukraine’s animals are also victims of the war

The war in Ukraine, now two years old, has affected animals as well as humans—but not equally. Military activity is almost certainly responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Black Sea dolphins; but Ukraine’s ban on wartime hunting has been good for foxes, whose numbers have exploded. The war has also caused untold ecological damage. Forests and steppe have burned and land and water have been contaminated by explosives and chemicals. At the beginning of this year the Ukrainian government claimed that the war had already caused some $56bn of damage to the country’s environment.Two years ago, as millions of Ukrainians fled, it seemed that theirs was the first exodus in history in which so many were accompanied by their pets. Heart-warming stories of how cute cats were saved from bombed-out tower blocks leavened the period’s grim journalistic fare. But, not surprisingly, when so many humans are being killed, the fate of Ukraine’s wildlife has gathered scant attention.