Alexei Ovchinnikov
Each month, the UWEC editorial team shares highlights of recent media coverage and analysis of the Ukraine war’s environmental consequences with our readers. As always, we welcome reader feedback, which you can leave by commenting on texts, writing to us (editor@uwecworkgroup.info), or contacting us via social networks.
Greenpeace study shows nuclear crisis in Ukraine deepening as war escalates
A study carried out by Greenpeace has highlighted the very real possibility of a nuclear catastrophe if Russia continues to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
“It is now time for the [International Atomic Energy Agency] to act more decisively both in clear and unambiguous communications to the Russian government and in its action for the immediate deployment of the expanded mission to critical substation infrastructure,” said Shaun Burnie, a nuclear energy expert from Greenpeace Ukraine.
According to the study, since the beginning of the full-scale invasion Russia has destroyed around 90-95% of Ukraine’s thermal power plants and 40% of its hydropower plants, leaving its energy sector dependent on three nuclear power plants with nine reactors. Meanwhile, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains occupied by Russian troops and is not supplying electricity to the country.
On top of this, Russia continues to strike substations and power lines. This could result in blackouts at nuclear reactors, which require a constant power supply for the stable operation of reactors and their emergency shutdown.
“When a nuclear power plant loses its offsite power from the grid, a so-called Loss of Offsite Power (LOOP) event occurs and the power plant falls back to three main power sources for its critical safety systems: on site batteries, back-up diesel generators, and the possibility to trip one reactor at the plant to house load” the report notes.
This may require one or several reactors to be switched off. Not only are reactors difficult to restart after shutdown, but power outages like this obviously increase the risk of an accident at a nuclear power plant.
Greenpeace Central & Eastern Europe calls upon the IAEA and other international institutions to apply as much pressure to Russia as possible to halt missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy system. It is also necessary to increase the number of IAEA missions, and to strengthen international support for the restoration of Ukraine’s energy sector, which has suffered as a result of the war. An important part of Greenpeace’s proposal is the decentralization of Ukrainian energy, a process which is already underway. This will make it more flexible and resilient to attacks from Russia, and will also ensure the country’s energy independence after the war.
You can read the full analysis by Greenpeace Central & Eastern Europe here.
RazomWeStand unveils catalog for investment in development of energy-efficient projects in Ukrainian cities
According to the ”Investment Catalogue of Ukrainian Cities” published by the Ukrainian environmental initiative RazomWeStand, Ukraine’s energy system was already in need of modernization even before the full-scale invasion, especially in the central heating and hot water supply sector. The war only exacerbated the problems.
Every city in Ukraine with a population of more than 400,000 needs between $20-100 million in investment to ensure it has a resilient heating system and water supply. In many cities, outdated Soviet technologies are still in use, resulting in up to 60% of energy being lost.
The aim of the catalog, developed in collaboration with USAID Governance and Local Accountability (HOVERLA), ISE Group, Ukraine-Moldova American Enterprise Fund, Association of Coal Communities of Ukraine, and the Association of Ukrainian Cities, is to present and estimate the cost of potential solutions to modernize and increase the energy efficiency of projects in Ukrainian cities. The authors suggest that this will be a way of attracting more investment, as well as showing the problems currently faced by Ukrainian communities.
Developing energy-efficient projects in Ukraine will not only modernize the country’s infrastructure, but will also help it adapt quicker to the Green Deal, as well as significantly reducing the load on the power grid.
The RazomWeStand catalog is available to read here (in English).
UWEC Work Group publishes report on environmental impact of war in Crimea
As part of the KrymSOS project, UWEC has published a study entitled “Crimea’s Environment: Changes and Losses During the Full-Scale War.” Authored by Oleksiy Vasyliuk, Viktoria Hubareva, and Viktor Parkhomenko, the study describes the main environmental problems that Crimea has faced since annexation and during the war. These include the commercial use of protected areas, the delisting of protected species, deforestation, poaching, the exploitation of Crimea’s natural resources, fires in steppe forests, water supply problems, and much more.
It is important to remember that Crimea’s ecosystems are unique biotas that enjoy protected status under international agreements. Despite these protections, the peninsula’s natural environment has suffered significantly from recent human activity.
The ecosystem was dealt a serious blow during the Soviet era, when the construction of the North Crimean Canal effectively altered natural conditions in northern Crimea. After Russia’s annexation of the peninsula in 2014, Ukrainian environmental and ecological organizations were forced to suspend their work in Crimea. Ukrainian organizations and experts exchanged information and analysis of what was happening in Crimea using open sources such as satellite data, or via insider information. However, as UWEC Work Group has reported regularly, the nature conservation situation on the peninsula has not improved.
Read about the environmental problems the war has caused in Crimea:
- The thirsty peninsula: How much water will Crimea need in the future?
- Sleight of land: How Russian authorities in occupied Crimea are using legal trickery to develop protected areas
- The Crimean Bridge: Environmental impact of Russia’s ‘project of the century’
- Nine years after Crimea’s annexation: militarization’s environmental consequences
- Militarization of Crimea. An infographic
You can read more about “Crimea’s Environment: Changes and Losses During the Full-Scale War” in the report (in English and Ukrainian).
Czech NGO holds seminars as part of ‘Clean Air for Ukraine’ program
In October, the Prague-based environmental organization Arnika ran three seminars as part of the Transition program, with financial support from the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
On October 9, energy conservation experts, activists, and scientists discussed whether nuclear power is a reliable future option for Ukraine, taking into account past and present threats, in an online seminar titled “Ukraine’s Energy Future: Challenges and Opportunities.” In the course of the discussion, participants put forward various possible solutions and discussed projects to develop safer and more sustainable energy sources (primarily renewable ones) as part of the path to energy independence for Ukraine.
On October 10, it was followed by the online seminar “Environmental Monitoring in Wartime,” where participants shared their experience and the importance of carrying out monitoring of air and water quality while martial law is in place. Reports were presented by the Dnipro regional council’s Center for Environmental Monitoring, as well as the municipality of Kryvyi Rih. The discussion also highlighted the Water Conflict Chronology resource, which documents the ecological state of water bodies in countries where military activity is taking place, including Ukraine (since 2014), as well as Ukraine’s EcoCity nationwide network for monitoring air quality, which is today the most accessible and widely used data source in public monitoring efforts.
The third seminar, on October 23, was called “First Study of Sediment Pollution in the Kakhovka Reservoir,” and presented the results of an analysis of 14 soil samples: 11 from the sediments of the former reservoir, two from a crater left by a Russian S-300 missile strike, and one from an industrial area of the city of Zaporizhzhia. The samples were gathered in two stages and tested for various pollutants, including pesticides, heavy metals, petroleum hydrocarbons, and so-called evergreen chemicals, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The most alarming findings were high levels of the dangerous, long-banned pesticide DDT, and relatively lower concentrations of another harmful insecticide, hexachlorane (HCH). These substances were detected in sediment samples from Zaporizhzhia’s main beach, which locals regularly use for recreation.
Read more about Arnika’s research into the consequences of the disaster at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in our article:
Ukraine blocks Russian chairmanship of Black Sea pollution body
Representatives of Bulgaria, Georgia, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and Russia convened on October 16 for the 44th meeting of the Black Sea Commission. The commission is responsible for the protection of the marine environment from pollution from land-based sources, oil, and other harmful substances as a result of accidents, as well as the preservation of biotic and landscape diversity.
Russia was due to take over the chairmanship of the commission from Romania at this year’s meeting, but Ukraine vetoed the transfer, stating that Russia is an aggressor whose actions have led to significant pollution of the Black Sea in recent years as a result of the war. A report has been published (in Ukrainian) on the official website of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources of Ukraine.
Read more about the environmental consequences of the war for the Black Sea:
- Impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov
- Black Sea heals its wounds: 4 months after the Kakhovka catastrophe
- War and the Sea: How hostilities threaten the coastal and marine ecosystems of the Black and Azov Seas
UAnimals protests against suffering of animals during war and ecocide
Ukrainian animal rights movement UAnimals held its annual march to raise awareness of the war’s impact on animals in Warsaw on October 8. The initiative has also set up an online platform where you can make donations to help animals that have suffered during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
According to UAnimals, which continues to rescue homeless animals from frontline areas, three zoos and about 20 animal shelters have been shelled since the beginning of the full-scale invasion. Rough estimates suggest that more than a million animals have died. Since the Russian invasion, 5,327 animals have been evacuated from the war zone, more than 20 shelters have been reopened and more than 950 metric tons of food have been distributed to animals in Ukraine. Meanwhile, work to sterilize homeless animals continues.
The march was held as part of an annual campaign to draw attention to problems facing animals in Ukraine. The first UAnimals march was organized on October 15, 2017 by the founder of the initiative, Oleksandr Todorchuk. The following year, an all-Ukrainian march was held to protest the exploitation of animals in zoos, laboratories, and nurseries, and in 2019, almost all 24 of Ukraine’s major cities joined the campaign.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic saw the march held online for the first time. The event has been held in Warsaw since the start of the full-scale invasion in 2022.
You can learn more and make donations to support the organization’s work on its website.
Read more about the consequences of the war for animals:
Translated by Alastair Gill
Main image source: sppga.ubc.ca
