During the year of the full-scale war, the environmental damage caused to Kharkiv Oblast reached UAH 15 bln (~$400mln).

This was reported by the head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office Oleksandr Filchakov.

As a result of shelling and fires, soil and plant cover are destroyed, animals die, air and water are polluted, landscapes are damaged, forests burn, and the land is littered with the remains of the destroyed military equipment.

According to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, Ruslan Strilets, the total amount of damage caused to the Ukrainian environment reaches UAH1,9 trillion (~$51bln).

“For almost a year since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, together with the State Environmental Inspection, we have documented more than 2,300 cases of environmental impact, and have already recorded almost UAH 1,9 trillion in damage to the Ukrainian environment. Such losses have never been recorded in any war or armed conflict in the world. We still continue to calculate the extent of the damage, but I am convinced that this number will increase due to the continuation of hostilities,” said Strilets.

According to the ministry, about 600 species of animals and about 750 species of plants and mushrooms are under threat, some of which belong to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species and may disappear forever.

Earlier, the environmentalists reported that the estimated damage caused by the Russian shelling of Kharkiv Central Park on Feb. 7 reached $19 million.