Since the beginning of the war, the russian occupiers have caused damage to the environment for the amount of UAH 2.2 trillion.
This is stated in the message of the government, Ukrainian News Agency reports.
"According to the information of the Ministry of Environment, almost 3,600 russian crimes against the environment have been recorded. The enemy caused us damages for the amount of UAH 2.2 trillion. Due to constant shelling, more than 750,000 tons of destruction waste were formed, which polluted 30 million hectares of territory," stressed Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during the United for Nature international environmental forum.
In addition, according to the Ministry of Economy, hundreds of thousands of square kilometers of Ukrainian land are potentially contaminated by mines and shells.
"Last year, we returned more than 200,000 hectares of agricultural land to use. For comparison, this is more than two squares of our capital, Kyiv. And this year, we have the ambition to survey and, if necessary, clear more than 512,000 hectares. But the mine threat will exist for many years to come," Shmyhal noted.
He also reported that the government continues to overcome the consequences of the russians' undermining of the Kakhovka HEPP dam, in particular, billions of hryvnias have been allocated, and new waterworks have been built.
At the same time, Ukraine is implementing environmental reforms.
According to Shmyhal, last year the government completed the reform of the subsoil use sector.
"Profits of the industry from auctions in 2023 reached a record amount - more than UAH 2 billion. In the forest industry, thanks to changes, last year also became a record for profits. They increased more than twice - to UAH 3 billion," he noted.
As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, Ukraine lost up to 35-40% of its fresh water reserves as a result of the russian occupiers blowing up the Kakhovka HEPP.
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