The war in Ukraine has created devastation across the region. The toll on human life is currently in the tens of thousands. However, as Ukraine fights on multiple fronts, the battle for a cleaner environment becomes an integral part of the fight for those who live there. Ukraine’s war with Russia has polluted rivers, flattened forests, and destroyed farmland, causing significant environmental damage in the frontlines and cities across the country. 

For the people under the umbrella of war, the destruction has become part of daily life.

Yaroslav, who chose not to give his last name, is a Ukrainian soldier fighting on the frontlines of the conflict, has seen the outcome of war firsthand.

Yaroslav sitting in an undisclosed location. Photo provided by Yaroslav.

“You have to understand that with war comes destruction,” says Yaroslav.

“Entire forests are destroyed. There is no foliage, really whatsoever. It’s really a barren landscape. Very much like what you would imagine in World War I, the Western Front.  Even in other regions of the front, we use tree lines for concealment; they will destroy them. They’ll use phosphorus munitions to burn as much away. The destruction causes a lot of debris,“ he said.

The debris he is talking about is the rubble of fallen buildings, burned cars, and materials left behind by the armed forces. Groups like Let’s Do it Ukraine, a volunteer network that organizes civic clean-ups and recycling drives, face a painstaking task of collecting hazardous waste left behind by shelling and explosions. 

According to the organization, since the war started, it has produced about 200 million tons of contaminated debris and waste. The cleanup is dangerous to the volunteers, but it is essential to the environment and villages that are affected. 

Just like deforestation, many villages have also been flattened out, a product of being in the frontline zone. 

“Actual frontline towns, villages are bare and there’s almost nothing left,” said Yaroslov.

He recalls when, in 2023, the Russian army destroyed the Kakhova Dam, flooding entire towns. 

“It started to flood a lot of the local areas, thus turning a lot of ground into more swamp-type land, and that’s not good,” he said. 

Adding that once that area is free from conflict, the cleanup is going to be a problem for Ukraine.

“A lot of this isn’t gonna heal,” he said. 

While soldiers like Yaroslav see the damage directly, scientists like Anna Kot, a Senior Lecturer at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Management and a PhD student at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, are trying to understand its environmental impact. 

Anna Kot, Senior Lecturer at the Department of Ecology and Environmental Management and a PhD student at V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University.

Kot has been studying the ecological fallout through her research. Her focus is on environmental monitoring and natural resource management. Since the war began, scientists have been able to record large-scale environmental damage. 

Among them, the destruction and contamination of rivers and reservoirs, chemical spills from industrial enterprises, forest fires, soil “bombturbation”, a term used for the aftermath of an explosion that creates a crater and mixes the soil with debris, making the soil useless, and finally the accumulation of heavy metals on the surface of the soil. 

“The greatest concern is posed by heavy metals like lead, cadmium, copper, mercury, petroleum products, detonation byproducts like nitrates, nitrites, hydrogen sulfide, as well as dust and gaseous emissions from fires and destroyed industrial facilities,” she said. 

Due to the war, heavy metals from ammunition fragments, tanks, and explosives have seeped into and contaminated agricultural land, making it less fertile. 

She says that more than 12 million acres of agricultural land have been contaminated due to the war, which has resulted in the loss of almost half a million dollars. While the destruction of the Kakhovka Reservoir released over 90,000 tons of heavy metals into the Dnipro River and the Black Sea, making it unsafe for drinking water and marine life. 

“Soil, water, and air contamination can lead to the accumulation of toxic substances in food products, increasing the risk of chronic diseases in the population,” said Kot.

“Long-term changes in soil structure and decreased fertility may negatively affect crop yields and the quality of agricultural products, thereby undermining food security and the economic stability of affected regions,” she added.

For Let’s Do It Ukraine, the challenge is converting that data into action. The organization has partnered with city governments, the State Emergency Service, and the United Nations Environment Programme to separate debris, identify hazardous material, and find ways to recycle usable scrap. Volunteers collect and sort from regular trash to rocket fragments. The organization also has mandatory training for volunteers in case of an attack while cleaning. 

The combination of human survival and environmental survival has become one of Ukraine’s toughest challenges. Scientists like Anna Kot continue to gather data to document how the war has affected the environment in Ukraine. 

“Many underestimate the scale and long-term consequences of the environmental impacts. The war not only destroys infrastructure and takes human lives, but also causes the accumulation of toxic substances in soil, water, and air, which will affect human health and ecosystems for decades after the end of hostilities,” she said.

While Yaroslav, who is fighting on the frontlines, sees the present impact on human suffering. 

“People know (the war) is affecting the environment. That’s without a doubt, but what can they do? Survival is gonna be the focus,” said Yaroslav.