Category: Highlights

The French media La Libre spoke with UWEC co-founder Oleksiy Vasilyuk about a balance between safe mine clearance, ecosystem protection, and future recovery of Ukraine. We’ve translated this material for you. Anti-personnel mines, cluster munitions, and other explosive remnants of war not only cause human casualties but can also contaminate land and groundwater by releasing…

Read More “Soil and water in Ukraine are contaminated with toxic substances” »

The environmental dimension of Ukraine’s recovery remains underestimated in RDNA reports (Rapid Damage and Needs Assessments). From 2023 to 2026, the approach evolved from a narrow focus on forests to a broader understanding of ecosystems, yet RDNA5 has simplified the analysis again. Biodiversity is mentioned only within a general damage estimate of $36 billion, while…

Read More “Ukraine Recovery Plan: environmental “blind spots” in RDNA reports” »

After the start of the war, the World Bank, the EU, the UN and the government of Ukraine introduced a series of reports to assess damage and recovery needs (RDNA – Rapid Damage and Needs Assessments). These documents combine data on destruction with estimates of reconstruction financing; their environmental component raises concerns. The latest version,…

Read More “RDNA5 Report on Ukraine: a brief look at environmental gaps” »

Full-scale war has significantly increased the ecological risks facing the Black Sea marine mammals. Today, three species inhabit the region: the bottlenose dolphin, the common dolphin, and the porpoise. As apex predators, they are particularly vulnerable to pollution and ecosystem changes. Historically, these populations have already suffered from hunting, unsustainable coastal development and invasive species….

Read More “Black Sea dolphins and porpoises: the impact of war on marine mammals” »

The Kreminski Forests National Park in the Luhansk region has been virtually destroyed as a result of the fighting. Established in 2019, this park was the region’s only national park and one of the largest forest areas in eastern Ukraine. The Kreminski Forests were a unique natural phenomenon. It was an island of boreal forests…

Read More “Kreminski Forests National Park in the Luhansk region devastated by the war” »

A new assessment of the environmental and climate impacts of the war in Ukraine reveals far-reaching consequences. Over four years of full-scale invasion, CO2 emissions totaled 311 million tons—equivalent to France’s total annual emissions and half of Germany’s annual emissions—and are estimated to have caused nearly $57 billion in climate damage. Of these, 114 million…

Read More “Carbon dioxide emissions from the war in Ukraine grew by 75 million tons” »

In January 2026, the Russian government announced the creation of the “Velykyi Luh” National Park in the occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. The new nature reserve covers an area of approximately 16,700 hectares and completely overlaps with the boundaries of the Ukrainian national park of the same name. The park includes the former territories of…

Read More “Russia establishes “Velykyi Luh” National Park in occupied Zaporizhzhia” »

An analysis of satellite imagery conducted by McKenzie Intelligence Services at the request of Greenpeace Ukraine in February 2026 revealed intensification of the militarization of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Construction of new military facilities and anti-drone fortifications has been observed on the plant’s grounds. Satellite data shows that the cooling pond’s surface area has…

Read More “Militarization of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant increases risks to nuclear safety” »

When we visualize the war in Ukraine, the images that usually come to mind are kinetic: tanks rolling across plains, missile strikes on apartment blocks, and drone warfare in the skies. However, a new academic study published in International Affairs reveals a quieter, yet equally deadly front line: the problem of food safety and the…

Read More “How food became a weapon in Ukraine” »

The war in Ukraine has opened a new and alarming chapter in the history of modern conflicts, where natural resources have ceased to be merely the backdrop of hostilities and have become direct participants in the tragedy. A new study by scholars from the Netherlands, the United States, and Iran convincingly shows how hydropolitics –…

Read More “Liquid iron curtain: how the Dnipro turned from a cradle of life into a weapon of mass destruction” »