There are environmental consequences of any conflict, however the situation in occupied Donbas is especially urgent due to the large number of mines and the fact that the vast majority of these (around 70 of the total 94) ended up on the territory of the Russian proxy ‘republics’. More than 70% of these have been closed, and there are grounds for fearing that crucial measures are not being taken to ensure the constant pumping out of subterranean waters. Without this, other mines in both government-controlled and occupied Donbas could end up flooded, as well contamination of drinking water supplies and other disastrous effects to the environment.
Environmental Challenges
Russia's War Against Ukraine
Ukraine-Russia relations
OP-ED
Halya Coynash: Russia ignores the environmental disaster its proxies are causing Ukraine
A Ukrainian soldier stands near a severely damaged ventilating tower of the Butovka coal mine, in a combat zone near the Donbas city of Avdiyivka, Donetsk region, eastern Ukraine, some 570 kilometers southeast of Kyiv on May 12, 2017.
