Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has given rise to air pollution, caused oil spills and damaged the country’s natural resources. Kyiv is now building a case to prosecute the Kremlin for environmental crimes
Smoke billows over the town of Vasylkiv just outside Kyiv in February 2022 after overnight Russian strikes hit an oil depot. AFP
Ukraine is building several cases to prosecute Russia for crimes committed in the country since the February 24 invasion. Even as evidence is gathered against war crimes, experts in the country are also compiling data against Russia for alleged environmental crimes.
What are environmental crimes?
Environmental crimes are broadly defined as illegal activities that cause harm to the environment. They include illegal trade in wildlife; illegal trade in ozone-depleting substances; pollution crimes that involve dumping and illegal transport of various kinds of hazardous waste that has led to pollution of air, water and land systems; illegal and unregulated fishing; and illegal logging of and timber trade.
In 2017, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which – for the first time – recognised environmental crime as part of other transnational organised crimes. The resolution specifically welcomes UN Environment’s experts’ process to examine and document the current status of knowledge of crimes that have a serious impact on the environment.
What environmental crimes has Russia committed in Ukraine?
According to the Ukrainian ministry in charge of environmental protection, the destroyed military equipment and ammunition, as well as exploded missiles and air bombs, pollute the soil and groundwater with chemicals, including heavy metals, reports Al Jazeera.
Russia has bombed oil depots, which has given rise to air pollution over residential areas near Kyiv, explosions of gas pipelines have led to oil spills, and strikes around nuclear reactors have caused wildfires.
Iryna Stavchuk, Ukraine’s deputy minister for energy and environment, is leading the effort to document the impact of the war on ecosystems and natural resources in the country in association with non-profits and other international organisations.
Since the invasion, the State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine has recorded 231 cases of environmental damage.
Nickolai Denisov, deputy director of the Geneva-based Zoi? Environmental Network, is part of a team which is recording damage and disruption caused because of the war in Ukraine.
“[The situation] of course is very serious,” Denisov told Al Jazeera. “Above all, there’s the impact on people. But there’s also that on the environment.”
Russia’s bombing of oil depots has increased air pollution over residential areas in Kyiv, according to organisations working to assess the eco criimes. AFP
How is Ukraine building its case?
Ukraine and international organisations like Zoi? Environmental Network are using satellite images, media reports, and government bulletins to gather evidence against Russia, the report says.
Government inspectors are travelling to areas struck by Russian missiles and bombs to collect samples of soils and monitor pollution reports. However, the most hard-hit places in Ukraine continue to be inaccessible as the war rages on.
How will they prosecute Russia?
The information gathered will be handed over to the Ukrainian environment ministry, military experts, and prosecutors, who will prepare a case to be brought before an international court, reports Al Jazeera. The data will be sent to other international organisations like the United Nations Environment Programme.
Ukraine plans to prosecute the Kremlin under international law and seek reparations for environmental crimes.
“Russia has to pay for all that they have done,” Iryna Stavchuk, Ukraine’s deputy minister for energy and environment, told Climate Home News, a media organisation that specialises in climate journalism “The ultimate goal is that they actually pay for the recovery.”
“In Ukraine, we want to document that there are direct risks for civilians from environmental damage, in particular in urban areas and around industrial sites,” Wim Zwijnenburg, who is leading the work at Netherlands-based peace organisation Pax, told Climate Home News.
Ukraine is also drafting a law that sets a framework for the economic valuation of damages causes to natural resources.
More than 200 incidents that could amount to environmental crimes have been recorded in Ukraine. AFP
Has any country been held accountable for eco crimes?
There are not many instances of prosecution of environmental crimes under international law. However, Kuwait had brought a case against Iraq for its invasion of the country in 199-91.
After the Gulf War ended, the United Nations formed a compensation commission to look into Kuwait’s claims. It found that Iraq was liable under international law for losses and damages, including environmental damages and the depletion of natural resources. Kuwait was awarded $52.4 billion in compensation for 1.5 million of the 2.7 million claims it brought, according to a report in Climate Home News.
With inputs from agencies
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