KIEV An international working group met for the first time in the capital of Ukraine on Thursday, the purpose of which is to deal with environmental crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine during the war.
The working group was convened by the president Volodymyr Zelenky June 8, just two days after the collapse of the Kahovka dam. Then Zelenskyi emphasized that the dam accident is not a natural disaster or the result of an environmental crisis, but a war crime, which, among other things, Vladimir Putin is personally responsible.
The group has 15 members, but only five were present in Kyiv: the chief of staff of the President of Ukraine Andrii JermakMEP Heidi Hautala (green), Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunbergformer Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallström and former President of Ireland Mary Robinson.
President Zelenskyi was also a guest at the meeting. Other group members participated in the meeting remotely.
Jermak, who is the chairman of the group, reminded at the press conference held after the meeting that one of the peace conditions presented by Zelensky concerns the prevention of environmental destruction.
Hautala: We are not doing this only for Ukraine
According to MEP Heidi Hautala, the first meeting showed that Ukraine has a very strong will to solve environmental crimes and environmental damage so that Russia is held responsible for them.
According to Hautala, the working group is still looking for its working methods, but it currently has three important tasks.
– The first is the overall assessment of the situation, the second is the assessment of environmental damage in the criminal sense, and the third is the green transition, i.e. how the country will be rebuilt after the war.
Hautala emphasizes that the working group does not consist of environmental scientists, so it can only compile assessments and statements given by experts.
Hautala was surprised by how much attention in Ukraine is paid to ecocide, i.e. natural death. Ecocide is an act punishable by criminal law, and the government treats environmental crimes with all seriousness.
In Hautala’s opinion, this brings Ukraine and Europe closer together.
– Ukraine is a European country, and here you feel it deeply. The Ukrainian people, the Ukrainian government and the president are doing everything they can to join the European Union as soon as possible. And we all need to support Ukraine getting there as quickly as possible.
The date of the second meeting has not yet been decided, but Hautala says that the working group’s activities will certainly continue in the near future.
– Of course, Ukraine is in the center, but we are not doing this only for Ukraine. We need to show the world that environmental destruction of this magnitude must not go unpunished.
The main concerns are the Kahovka dam accident and the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant
In the first month of the war alone, Russia committed more than a hundred environmental crimes on the territory of Ukraine. This is what he told in March of last year, the Ukrainian environmental organization Ekodija, or Ekoteko.
Most of the crimes are damage to industrial and energy facilities, which can be a danger to the environment. Other crimes are causing negative effects on ecosystems, endangering nuclear safety and improper handling of agricultural waste.
The most environmental crimes have occurred in the region of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Mykolaiv.
– And we don’t know for sure what kind of damage has been caused to the environment in the occupied areas, says Andrii Jermak, chairman of the working group.
In June, the Prosecutor’s Office said he would find out almost 190 environmental crimes committed by Russia. 14 of them are cases of ecocide, i.e. massive natural destruction.
The main environmental concern of Ukrainians at the moment is the Kahovka dam accident and its consequences. In Ukraine, it is felt that the world has not reacted to the tragedy effectively enough.
– I think the world’s reaction was insufficient. I don’t think any reaction could have been enough. We need to give space to those affected by the accident to tell about their own experiences, said Greta Thunberg.
Another environmental issue that Ukrainians are concerned about is the situation at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. The leadership of Ukraine has warned several times that Russia may organize a terrorist act at the power plant. The working group intends to deal with this issue as well.
– If something happens there, the disaster may be many times greater than in Chernobyl, Jermak underlined.