The UNEP Report and Assessment Methodology

I’m going to be presenting a report that I co-authored together with a few colleagues at Grid Arendal, my employer, where I work in the transboundary governance and environmental crime program. And it’s an official collaboration with the United Nations environmental program. And in 2022, the government of Ukraine reached out to United Nations Environmental Program or UNAP asking UNEP to assist them with the monitoring of environmental impacts of war the initial ones and of course constructing a comprehensive post-conlict assessment plan and the idea was that this report would help inform on the ground assessment once the war is over. It was published 7 months into the war and I think no one expected that at the moment we would still be in the same situation if not worse.

And that’s why already then comprehensive post-conlict assessment was discussed and then the United Nations environmental program reached out to us as we’re their partners supporting them with research and commissioned us to research the environmental impacts of war in general at large and the initial impacts in Ukraine based on publicly available information as well as on ties and cooperation with local experts from FAO and other organizations and and scientists were active.

And the report consists of two parts. The rapid literature view of environmental impacts of conflicts over the past 30 years that are similar in nature to to the current war in Ukraine. For instance, a lot of urban fighting, a lot of infrastructure destruction. And this includes for instance the Kosovo war, the Gulf War, the war in Lebanon, Yemen, Georgia, the Chechen wars etc. And of course also the impacts that were available about the war in Ukraine that was ongoing since 2014. And the second part is the summary of not only baseline environmental issues that Ukraine was facing before 2022, but also the impacts that were already available, whether they were confirmed or not confirmed. Of course, the issue is, as I said, 7 months after the war, now we’re in the fourth year, and so so many more impacts have occurred. So many have not been documented yet. I did my best to update the information from the report to reflect current information and available data up to October 2025.

Part 1: Global Lessons on Environmental Impacts of Conflict

Chemical and Industrial Infrastructure

So, we’ll start with the rapid literature review of environmental impacts of conflicts. Basically, what are some potential environmental impacts? So, one of the clearest and most immediate consequences of wars damage to chemical infrastructure. When chemical plants, pipelines or industrial sites are hit, they often catch fire and release toxic pollutants to the environment. And these pollutants contaminate air, water, and soil, creating both immediate hazards, fires, and acute toxicity and long-term risks from persistent contamination.

Chemical facilities typically store large quantities of diverse hazardous substances, and these are extremely complex and high risk to manage. We’ve seen similar examples in the past conflicts. For example, during the Kosovo war, an industrial complex in Serbia was hit and huge amounts of hazardous chemicals were released, including chlorine, propylene, vinyl chloride. Those are used to make plastics and a variety of other chemicals. Contamination spread across the Dub River affecting central and eastern Europe at large. And yeah, it’s a reminder of how quickly industrial pollution can become a transboundary problem as well.

Of course, chemical releases pose severe public health risks. The most acute danger typically comes from vapors of toxic industrial chemicals. And these vapors can accumulate at incident sites, but they can also be carried over long distances by prevailing winds, exposing populations far from the point of impact. Some hazardous concentrations may last hours to days while contamination of soil and water can persist for much longer years, decades.

Fuel Infrastructure and Oil Spills

Another critical issue is the destruction of fuel infrastructure. Oil wells, pipelines, tankers, and storage depots are extremely vulnerable during conflict. When they hit, they often ignite or spill, releasing a variety of horrible things such as hydrocarbons, black carbon gases, and particulate matter.

Some examples is for instance during the 1991 Gulf War between 600 and 700 oil wells burned for months. They released up to 500,000 tons of pollutants per day and the black carbon traveled globally. Deposits were detected all the way on the Tibetan plateau. The oil spills were equally catastrophic. 6 to 8 million barrels ended up in the Gulf and 25 to 50 million barrels were spilled on land. This of course devastated habitats, killed huge numbers of birds and created contamination that persisted long afterwards. And we have similar examples in Chechnya during the Chechen wars between 1994 and 2009 where destroyed fuel infrastructure caused widespread contamination.

Waste Management and Military Debris

Waste management systems become overwhelmed by solid household and military waste. Conflict also overwhelms waste management systems, modern warfare, leaves behind enormous quantities of debris. These are collapsed buildings, military vehicles. As I’ve already said, unexploded ordinance and landmines, weapons and explosive introduce toxic chemicals and heavy metals into the environment.

This contamination affects soil, water, air, and can cause skin irritation, kidney failure, and in some cases increased cancer risks, especially from depleted uranium or explosive residues. Unexploded ordinance and landmines remain dangerous for decades. They block reconstruction efforts, restrict agriculture, and render land unusable. Destroyed military equipment leaks fuels, oils, battery assets, and other hazardous components.

To give you an example, soldiers also generate a lot of waste. And in Iraq and Afghanistan, each soldier generated around 4.5 kg of waste per day. And with limited options of disposal, burn pits became widespread. And burn pits incinerated plastics, batteries, electronics, medical waste, and even human or animal remains, releasing extremely toxic smoke.

Military Mobility and Naval Impacts

Military vehicles add another layer of environmental impact their components such as batteries, tires, paints, and lubricants can release heavy metals and toxic chemicals into surrounding ecosystems when they’re damaged or improperly disposed of. Interestingly enough, warships or naval vessels are exempt from most environmental regulations internationally. So, first and foremost, there’s no data available on some of the some of the impacts of their operation in terms of the destruction of the environment. But they generous hazardous waste both in operation when destroyed. Of course, sunken or damaged ships can leak oil, fuel, and other toxic compounds into marine ecosystems and sometimes for decades.

Munitions and Heavy Metals

Munition debris is one of the most persistent sources of contamination. Depleted uranium is a major concern. It’s a high-density metal used in armor-piercing ammunition. And when DU munitions strike a target, they transform into fine inhalable dust that settles in to soil and water and health risks may stem from there. Chemical toxicity can damage the kidneys, the liver and cause developmental and neurological problems.

Ammunition introduces a wide spectrum of heavy metals into the environment. Lead, barium, copper, nickel, manganese, and others. And these metals can persist for decades, sometimes up to 70 years, and tend to by accumulate in plants and animals.

Nuclear and Mining Risks

Of course, a big one is nuclear material risks, especially during the ongoing war. Historically, we haven’t seen a major wartime disaster involving nuclear power plant. But several conflicts have caused damage to research reactors, radioactive storage sites, and various facilities holding radioactive sources.

Mining sites and waste tailings are another major risk. Conflicts often disrupt power supply which leads to mine flooding. A critical issue particularly in eastern Ukraine in the Dets and Luhansk regions. When mines flood, the water interacts with exposed rock and industrial residues leading to acidic drainage and heavy metal leeching and the release of methane and raden gas.

Urban Destruction and Rubble

Urban destruction is another major environmental and public health challenge during conflict. When residential areas are demolished, the debris contains a mix of asbestos silica dust, heavy metals, etc. A striking example comes from Mosul in Iraq following the 2017 conflict. The UNAP mission estimated that the city contained around 11 million tons of rubble, much of it mixed with landmines and asbestos.

Agriculture and Long-term Soil Degradation

Also very relevant to the current war is destruction of agricultural assets. Damage to irrigation systems, pumping stations and rural infrastructure disrupt crop production immediately and contamination of soil from heavy metals, explosives, mine water, oil, and chemical spills can render farmland unusable.

This is not hypothetical. Even today, soils in parts of France and Belgium still show contamination from world world war I and World War II over a century later. Landmines continue to damage agricultural landscapes long after the conflict ends. And even after land is demined, the soil structure, fertility, and biodiversity may take decades to recover.

Nature: The Forgotten Victim

And finally, because nature is a forgotten victim of conflict, forgotten victim of war. Deliberate environmental damage is common. Vegetation is clear to remove cover, deny resources or forest displacement of populations. So, scorched earth techniques.

For instance, in Iraq, the movement of thousands of military vehicles across the desert combined with intense bombing caused widespread degradation of fragile desert ecosystems. In Georgia in 2008, military actions triggered widespread forest fires. These fires destabilized mountain ecosystems leading to various floods, landslides, and mudslides.

Part 2: The Ukraine Context and Current Data

Baseline Environmental Challenges

And this leads me to the second part of our presentation, the Ukraine context, and specifically what we know so far. First and foremost, I think just general context about Ukraine. Ukraine is highly urbanized. Around 29 people live in cities, while only 12.6 live in rural areas and the high urban density means that damage to infrastructure carries massive implications to both people and the environment.

It’s important to emphasize that Ukraine already had serious pre-existing environmental challenges before the war. Rapid posts Soviet industrialization, intensive agriculture, and historically weak pollution controls have caused long-term cumulative pollution.

Chemical and Industrial Vulnerabilities

Ukraine’s chemical industry is a major component of its economy. The country has 609 chemical facilities that store process more than 219 tons of toxic chemicals. A major vulnerability is also the Talatia ammonia pipeline which is stretching 2,147 km with more than 1,000 km running through Ukraine.

The wars already led to more than 288 incidents involving disruptions or accidents across 85 chemical and co-chemical facilities. This is as of the end of October 2025. Full environmental and health assessments remain limited because many sites remain inactive war zones.

Fuel and Energy Sector Targeting

The fuel and energy sectors have been heavily targeted as we all have been hearing in the news since the beginning of the conflict there have been 197 reported incidents affecting 168 fuel infrastructure facilities including refineries, gas processing plants and pipelines.

Big examples include the Kmanuk refinery in Pava Obist, Ukraine’s only fully operational refinery before the war. It was destroyed by missile strikes and it had a processing capacity of 3 million tons of oil per year.

Waste and Livestock Losses

Ukraine also faces enormous challenges in the waste sector. By 2020, the country had accumulated 15.6 billion tons of waste. A staggering 84.6% of all Ukrainian waste comes from mining, metallurgy, coal, chemical and energy industries.

Biological waste and livestock losses have also surged. The FAO estimated that the war has caused around 15% of livestock losses. Some estimate that it was 4 millions of chickens that died just within weeks in Chernabka after power outages stopped feeding systems.

Radioactive Waste and Lost Control

This is a big concern radioactive waste. Ukraine holds large volumes of radioactive waste. Much of it, of course, is linked to Chernobyl. Since the invasion, Ukraine has experienced multiple radiation related incidents. However, since 2014, It has lost control over several key facilities including the Seastope research reactor, Zaporizhiya nuclear power plant famously and the Donetsk radioactive waste collection center and these losses create information gaps making it difficult to monitor radioactive materials and assess future risks.

This continuation of the transcript has been organized into thematic sections, focusing on infrastructure collapse, the Kakhovka disaster, biodiversity, and the future of data collection and recovery.

Waste Management and the Complexity of Military Scrap

The war has caused a massive surge in waste generation while severely damaging Ukraine’s waste management systems. There have been bombings, missile strikes, and urban combat that has created millions of tons of demolition debris and uncollected waste and mixed waist streams which are contaminated by explosives and hazardous materials. And of course, many of these waste require specialized handling, which is difficult during active conflict. A lot of this waste could lead to soil and water contamination and the risk of transboundary river pollution.

There’s been an explosion in scrap metals and managing the military scrap is immensely complex because it’s classified as state property. This requires inspection of unexploded ordinance and detonators as well as must undergo decontamination and needs control transportation under military oversight. UNEP estimates that tens of thousands of tons of military scrap have already accumulated.

Urban Infrastructure and the Asbestos Threat

Ukrainian cities depend heavily on centralized systems for water supply, sewage treatment, and district heating. Over 100,000 apartments buildings rely on district heating networks. And since the invasion, widespread bombing has caused severe damage to a variety of urban infrastructure from residential buildings to utility systems, transport, airports, airfields. The destruction of these systems results in loss of essential services, increased public health risks, and heightened vulnerability to extreme weather and emergencies.

Nearly all buildings have been damaged or destroyed in many towns. Of course, a major hidden hazard in this rubble is asbestos, which is highly toxic. And an estimated 60% of roofing materials across Ukraine contain asbestos. This means that debris is likely to be heavily contaminated, which poses severe respiratory and cancer risks for residents and cleanup workers and long-term environmental contamination across affected regions.

The Kakhovka Dam Disaster: A Compounding Crisis

The water sector has been particularly affected, but I want to focus specifically on the biggest one: the environmental impact of the Kakhovka dam explosion in 2023. Destruction of the Kakhovka dam created one of the most severe environmental disasters since the start of the war. When the dam was blown up, the reservoir drained, exposing approximately 83,000 tons of toxic heavy metal sediments. These sediments contain lead, cadmium, nickel. Only a small amount was released immediately. However, the majority will gradually leech into rivers over years.

The immediate environmental impacts are also severe. Flooding caused the loss of 20 to 30% of flood plane rodents and destroyed the entire stock of juvenile fish. The Nepra River experienced a surge in turbidity; the water became really musky due to the daily release of 9,000 to 17,000 tons of phytolanton. Biologists estimate a probable loss of around 10,000 tons of macro invertebrates, which undermines the ecological foundation of the river system. This disaster exemplifies how a single event can create compounding rolling environmental health and economic crisis.

Impact on Agriculture and Livestock

Shelling, the construction of fortifications and the movement of tanks have deeply disrupted agricultural land. Satellite imagery from Maxar provides illustrations of hundreds of artillery craters across fields in Don Kluhanists, visibly scarring former croplands. These craters are not just physical damage; they often contain chemical pollution from munition.

The Russian army has also directly targeted food production and storage infrastructure. Livestock has suffered greatly. In occupied areas, farmers are not able to safely reach their animals. This resulted in many war-related animal deaths which include thousands of sheeps and goats, 200,000 cattle, 258,000 pigs, and millions of poultry. There are also serious risks from damaged animal waste facilities. For example, in Bahmood, the damaged manure lagoon poses a major pollution threat to the local river basin.

Biodiversity and Protected Ecosystems

Despite these impacts, it’s important to remember what is at stake here: Ukraine’s remarkable natural environment. Forests cover about 14 to 16% of Ukraine’s territory, while other natural ecosystems such as natural grasslands and wetlands occupy around 6 to 9%. Ukraine is exceptionally rich in terms of biodiversity, hosting tens of thousands of species.

The war’s impact has been severe. Current estimates suggest that roughly 20% of Ukraine’s protected areas have been directly affected. Declines have been reported for several rare species such as the black stork and the marbled polecat. Unique ecosystems are under attack, like the Kinburit in Mikolaiv Obl, where more than 250 recorded fires have burned relicked oak pine forests. The Ascan Nova Biosphere Reserve, one of the last near step ecosystems on Earth, has also been severely affected.

Resilience and the “Rewilding” Debate

Following the Kakhovka dam destruction, the emptied reservoir has started transforming into a new mosaic of flat plane forests and wetlands. Species such as sturgeon and other native fish are beginning to return. However, this recovery is taking place under the shadow of heavy metal contamination.

There have been some glimmers of hope in urban areas. Bombed buildings sometimes create novel habitats for species like foxes and corvids. This has sparked debates among Ukrainian ecologists: should we rebuild or rewild? Should these landscapes be returned to intensive industrial agricultural use, or should some be allowed to evolve into new semi-wild ecosystems potentially enhancing biodiversity? International organizations are advocating for nature-positive reconstruction.

Monitoring and Data Collection in Wartime

Armed conflict makes field data collection super difficult precisely when environmental risks are highest. Many monitoring stations have been damaged or occupied. At the same time, new tools such as social media reporting, satellite imagery, and remote sensing allow near real-time tracking, which is new.

The response from international actors was fragmented in the early stages, but it has improved. Data is still often collected in silos. Here are some suggestions: building monitoring assessment capacity, preserving data for accountability, and developing a strategic environmental monitoring plan.

A public real-time platform called Ecodozor has been developed to document impacts in real time. You can see various damages and documented environmental impacts that exist, and you can get monthly reports with specific statistics on damaged infrastructure.