Russia destroyed over 60,000 hectares of forest in occupied Ukrainian territories, costing UAH 14 billion

The findings come from NGL.media, which conducted its own calculations.

The reported damages do not include the environmental repercussions, which could be even costlier to address.

"Before the conflict, forests covered only 11% of Luhansk region's territory. While this may seem low compared to western Ukraine's 30-50% forest cover, in the predominantly steppe Luhansk region, forests play a crucial role in preventing sandstorms, retaining moisture, and halting soil erosion," note the journalists.

According to reports, some of the forest was destroyed during combat and fires, while others were indiscriminately felled by the occupiers.

For instance, the "Severodonetsk forestry and hunting enterprise" saw the deployment of a mobile sawmill by the occupiers. It appears that the Russians are using some of the felled timber for constructing dugouts and defensive structures, while selling the rest. Notably, there is no oversight on the extent of deforestation. Serhii Sezonenko, the enterprise's head, remained in the city as a volunteer for the first two months after the full-scale Russian invasion. However, in April, Ukrainian military personnel instructed all civilians to leave the city.

"We had around 100 workers in our forest farm, with 60% remaining to work for the occupiers. Initially, I could still communicate with the foresters when they ventured into the forest, but now even that connection has been severed. I'm aware that one of our foresters went missing: he refused to speak Russian and was taken to Luhansk, where he never returned," Sezonenko informed reporters.

Since February 2022, 97 Ukrainian foresters have gone missing, and another 116 have been confirmed dead.

In April of last year, there was a notable movement of trucks carrying Ukrainian roundwood in the Donetsk region, heading towards the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Among the natural areas most affected in the Donetsk region is the Svyati Hory ("Holy Mountains") national nature park, located in the Kramatorsk and Bakhmut districts. Since the full-scale invasion began, 80% of the park has been destroyed due to ongoing hostilities.

"It's unfortunate that the unique ecosystems of pine forests on chalks have been the hardest hit. They are protected by the Berne Convention and boast distinct flora. Such ecosystems are no longer found in Europe," said Ivan Moisienko, head of the Department of Botany at Kherson State University.

In the Kharkiv region, forests cover less than 15% of the territory, with approximately 40-45% of them currently being mined or damaged by fires.

On February 24, 2022, employees of the Kupyansk forest farm were instructed not to report to work due to the presence of occupiers in the forest. The forest farm remained inactive for the next two months, and in May, workers were offered positions to work for the Russians. Chief forester Oleksandr Rybka initially evaded the Russians and eventually left the occupied area altogether.

"We resumed operations at the forest farm in October, but even after a year and a half, we are unable to fully assess the extent of the forest destruction due to mining. In the neighboring Izyum forest farm, the largest in the region, active fighting continues within the forest, and we suspect that a significant portion has also been destroyed," Rybka told journalists.

While hiding from the Russians in the occupied territory, Oleksandr Rybka witnessed trucks loaded with logs being transported in an unknown direction.

The forests in the Kherson region, which used to cover only 5% of the territory before the war, suffered the most damage from the occupiers.

"We can't accurately measure the damage, but we've lost unique areas and entire ecosystems," said Ivan Moisienko, head of the Department of Botany at Kherson State University, to NGL.media.

According to Serhii Khlan, deputy of the Kherson Regional Council, the Russians cleared the Oleshky forest to construct their fortifications. Additionally, some of the felled trees were taken towards Melitopol.

The Black Sea Biosphere Reserve, "Askania Nova", and national parks such as "Meotida", "Azov-Syvasky", and "Dzharylgatskyi", where hostilities occurred or military equipment passed through, also suffered significant damage.

• Last August, a forest fire destroyed 16 square kilometers of land on the occupied reserve island of Dzharylgach in the Kherson region. The fire burned for nearly a week.
• Since the start of the full-scale invasion until the end of January 2024, nearly 3,600 environmental crimes by the Russians have been documented. The enemy caused Ukraine damage amounting to UAH 2.2 trillion.