Missiles and mortars kill and maim people, but Russia's year-long war in Ukraine is also poisoning the air, ground and sea, says Ukraine's minister of environmental protection, who is building a case that Russia should pay for its ecological 'crimes.'
Ukraine hasn't worked out the mechanics, but it is mounting a case for ecological damage from the war to be a sizeable part of any future compensation. The huge challenge will be to prove alleged crimes in any international court and force Russia to pay.'A danger to the health of Ukrainians'
An estimated 15 per cent of Ukraine's agricultural land is littered with mines and other unexploded ordnances, particularly in the eastern and southern parts of the country. In January, Environment Minister Strilets visited one of Ukraine's national parks, the Holy Mountains in Donetsk region. The Conflict and Environment Observatory is developing its own database on the war in Ukraine, with more than 700 cases logged so far, one of a number of international organizations collecting evidence.
But physical inspection is still a barrier in Russian-controlled territory or near active, shifting front lines.Currently, there is no formal mechanism to pursue or prosecute environmental crimes, but there is precedent for compensation. After the 1991 Gulf War, the UN Security Council set up a Compensation Commission that bound Iraq to pay reparations for damage in Kuwait, including environmental damage.
But the wider question, says Weir, is where the money for reparations would come from. "Would Western countries freeze Russian assets and use those to help pay reparations? Environmental remediation is expensive, it's complex and it takes years."
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