Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets: “1 day of the big war = 102 million euros or 4 billion hryvnias of environmental damage. And this is without taking into account the ecocide committed by the russian federation at the Kakhovka HPP. Today marks the 500th day of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Every day we lose people, assets, and natural resources.

Every day, inspectors of the State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine record the destruction of the environment caused by the fighting. The figures are terrifying. Today we have about 51 billion euros or 2 trillion hryvnias of environmental damage. This means that each day of the war costs russia at least 102 million euros or 4 billion hryvnias in environmental damage. Everything has its price.

The calculations are ongoing. russia will pay for every day of this war. For every tree it burns. For every piece of Ukrainian land desecrated. That is why we are uniting with the whole civilised world and working towards the recognition of ecocide in international law.”