UKRAINE, KHARKIV, Jul 17 — Russian military deliberately shells forests and forest stands in Kharkiv Oblast, particularly in Kupiansk and Vovchansk directions, said Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the region, on Ukrainian TV on July 16. 

Kharkiv Oblast comes under massive Russian artillery shelling and airstrikes often, even more so since Russia launched a new ground offensive north and northeast of the region in the Vovchansk and Lyptsi directions in May. Officials report over 6,500 hectares of forest in the region catching fire or burning down due to Moscow troops’s attacks. 

“That creates pretty significant issues because the units of the State’s Emergency Service (SES) can’t put out fires in the forests because forests are mined. We’re putting up checkpoints around populated areas for the fire not to spread onto residential buildings,” Syniehubov said. 

Apart from that, emergency services’ work is complicated by the risks of Russian double-tap strikes. 

The State Forest Resources Agency of Ukraine estimates that the Russian military invasion has damaged almost 30% of Ukraine’s forests. The Kharkiv region suffered damage to 40-45% of its forests. 

Read more 

  • Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine: The Russian Federation caused environmental damage to Ukraine’s nature worth about $63 billion over the two years of the full-scale invasion.