The article is dedicated to the study of international legal foundations for environmental protection during a state of war. It is emphasized that with the onset of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into the territory of sovereign and independent Ukraine, numerous environmental crimes have become one of the tragic themes in the context of the armed attack. In conditions of martial law, when the territory of Ukraine is under the threat of armed aggression and violations of its territorial integrity by the aggressor state, ensuring ecological security becomes an extremely challenging task. Armed actions on the territory of Ukraine lead to violations of citizens’ environmental rights, cause significant long-term negative consequences, and result in damage to the environment, particularly through the pollution of the atmosphere, water resources, soils, as well as the destruction of natural ecosystems and biodiversity, among others.

The facts outlined in the article represent a gross violation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Methods of Warfare that Affect the Natural Environment, the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 concerning the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts (Protocol I), and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxic Weapons and on Their Destruction. By undermining the provisions of international legal instruments, the Russian Federation systematically causes unlawful harm to the environment of Ukraine, which will have long-lasting consequences for the environment and public health. A number of natural objects have been destroyed as a result of Russian aggression, and the damaged ecosystems will require decades to recover. Polluted areas may remain uninhabitable for flora and fauna even after the hostilities cease.

The article stresses the need for increased international attention to issues concerning the implementation of international legal instruments in the field of environmental protection during armed conflicts, as well as the formation of mechanisms for compensating for the damage caused to the natural environment.

Keywords: environment, ecological security, international legal instruments, armed aggression, environmental rights, biodiversity.

References

1. United Nations (1976), Convention on the prohibition of military or any other hostile use of environmental modification techniques, available at: https://www.un.org/ru/documents/decl_conv/conventions/hostenv.shtml (accessed 29 January 2025).
2. International Committee of the Red Cross (1977), Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts, available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_199#Text (accessed 29 January 2025).
3. United Nations (1972), Convention on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of bacteriological (biological) and toxin weapons and on their destruction, available at: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/995_182#Text (accessed 29 January 2025).
4. EcoThreat, available at: https://ecozagroza.gov.ua/ (accessed 29 January 2025).
5. The war destroyed about 80% of the forest plantations in the Holy Mountains National Park, available at: https://mepr.gov.ua/vijna-znyshhyla-blyzko-80-lisovyh-nasadzhen-natsparku-svyati-gory/ (accessed 29 January 2025).
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9. Damage to Ukraine’s protected areas and biodiversity from the war is estimated at over 600 billion UAH: steps for restoration need to be developed now, available at: https://mepr.gov.ua/zbytky-zapovidnomu-fondu-ta-bioriznomanittyu-ukrayiny-vid-vijny-stanovlyat-oriyentovno-ponad-600-mlrd-grn-vzhe-zaraz-potribno-napratsovuvaty-kroky-po-jogo-vidnovlennyu/ (accessed 29 January 2025).
10. Minister Svitlana Hrynchuk visits Zaporizhzhia: damage to protected areas from Russian military aggression exceeds 1.5 billion UAH, at: https://mepr.gov.ua/ministr-svitlana-grynchuk-z-robochym-vizytom-u-zaporizhzhi-zbytky-pryrodno-zapovidnomu-fondu-vid-zbrojnoyi-agresiyi-rf-perevyshhuyut-1-5-mlrd-grn/ (accessed 29 January 2025).