Dear friends!
We live in a difficult time, a time when it seems as if governments have lost their minds and refuse to see our changing climate. There is probably not a single country that is not rolling back some of its environmental and nature conservation policies. It is thus all the more critical to support each other and continue this important work.
We are pleased to share some exciting news with you. At the start of this year, we registered a branch of our organization in Ukraine. This development will enable us to participate officially in domestic efforts to overcome the war’s environmental consequences as well as to advocate for the nation’s green recovery. Read on to learn about a new way for you to participate in our work!
While Ukraine remains at the heart of UWEC Work Group, our initiative includes the analysis of the transboundary impacts of the war. Over the course of January and February, UWEC expert Eugene Simonov spoke with over 20 international news organizations about the role of the “shadow fleet” in the catastrophic mazut (a Russian blend of heavy fuel oil) spill in December 2024 that created an environmental disaster in the Black Sea. Read more about the shadow fleet and this spill:
The spill’s consequences are a significant threat to Black Sea ecosystems. Numerous deaths of marine mammals (porpoises and dolphins) and birds have already been confirmed, while the long-term impacts to fish and other ichthyofauna is difficult to predict. The spill is already harming the region’s protected areas, including Ramsar Convention sites. It is not expected that the Russian government will take correct actions to limit the effects of the disaster. Spill pollution has already reached the shores of other Black Sea states, and as seawater temperatures rise, mazut slicks will once again appear on the surface and pollute the entire Black Sea coastline. Read more about the environmental consequences of the oil spill:
The Kerch mazut spill is not the first event to cause direct and indirect harm to the Black Sea. While the sabotage of the Kakhovka hydropower dam occurred in June 2023, analyses of its impacts are only now becoming available. In this UWEC Work Group issue, we examine the limited field research that is now underway behind the front lines in Ukraine, with the left bank of the Dnipro River inaccessible to researchers as a result of Russian occupation. We will only see the full picture after the war ends and lands are freed from occupation. UWEC expert Oleksiy Vasyliuk examines how the Kakhovka reservoir’s silts spread during the June 2023 flood and discussed an initial analysis of soil pollution as a result of the dam’s destruction:
Understanding the development and implementation of compensation mechanisms for war crimes, including environmental crimes, is one of today’s most complicated challenges. Legal experts hope that this process will enable work to facilitate international recognition of ecocide. Read more about this and other research in our traditional monthly review:
Understanding these environmental processes and even more so the implementation of “green recovery” programs will require significant financial investment. Ukraine’s war-torn economy will certainly not be able to shoulder the entire burden, and it will require the help of allies and partners. International American programs had a large stake in the country’s recovery initiatives. However, the Trump administration has ended a great many of them. UWEC journalist Viktoria Hubareva examines how the end of financial aid from the United States has affected environmental initiatives in Ukraine:
Friends, today we welcome financial support in order to continue and expand our initiative. If you are able, we are excited to warmly invite you to make a one-time or monthly gift via our website. Our solidarity today determines whether Ukraine and the region will have a “green future” after the end of the war.
You can find more coverage of the environmental consequences of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on our website, on Twitter (X), Bluesky, Facebook and Telegram.
We wish you strength and peace!
Alexej Ovchinnikov, editor of UWEC Work Group