UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Jul. 11 — The damage Russia’s war has inflicted on Kharkiv oblast’s environment now exceeds 566 billion hryvnias (~$12 billion), according to the Kharkiv State Environmental Inspection. 

According to them, the land sustained the most damage, amounting to 554 billion hryvnias, and the area of damaged territories exceeded 7,7 million square meters.   

Also, due to combat actions, over 561,000 tons of pollutants were released into the atmosphere, with the damage amounting to 4 billion hryvnias. The water resources in Kharkiv oblast were polluted as well, with 86 tons of pollutants, resulting in damage totaling 7,3 billion hryvnias. 

In February, Ukrainian prosecutors filed charges against two Russian generals over the destruction of the dam at the Oskil Reservoir in the Kharkiv region in 2022, calling it an act of ecocide and a violation of the laws of war. 

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