On the sidelines of the Fourth Meeting of National Security Advisors on President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s Peace Formula in Davos, Switzerland, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets, together with First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yuliia Svyrydenko, spoke about the developments in achieving environmental safety and presented the latest figures on environmental damage.

According to Ruslan Strilets, Ukraine’s efforts in the international arena are yielding results. The world’s attention to Ukraine’s peace track is growing. This time, the discussion of the Peace Formula involved more than 81 countries and international organisations.

“The environmental impact of the war extends far beyond Ukraine. The blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, massive shelling, fighting in protected areas, forest fires, and the destruction of species – all of this has undone many years of efforts for sustainable development and climate neutrality. All of this needs to be assessed by the international community,” said Ruslan Strilets.

In 2023, we managed to:

• involve about 12 countries and 2 international organisations in the group. The group is co-chaired by countries with a strong environmental protection potential – Germany, Bulgaria and Finland;
• create a roadmap for the implementation of Point 8 of the Peace Formula.

Ruslan Strilets told the partners about the priority goals of implementing Point 8:

• Environmentally friendly demining. Ukraine is the most ammunition-contaminated country in the world. According to the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, out of 174,000 square kilometres of mined land, 18,000 square kilometres of fields, forests, rivers and lakes were cleared in 2023.
• Bringing russia and belarus to justice. We need to synchronise the world around the issue of environmental damage caused by war in order to unify methods of calculating damage and introduce the term “ecocide” in international law.
• Short-, medium- and long-term environmental damage assessment. Today we are recording and calculating the environmental damage caused by the war. The next step is to assess the impact on the future of the planet and plan for environmental restoration.

“It is not only about achieving peace and post-war reconstruction of Ukraine. Our experience of fighting for the environment in times of war is an example for the whole world to stop and transform future wars. I am grateful to Ukraine’s partners who have become our trusted friends in the course of our joint work on Point 8,” Ruslan Strilets concluded.