Ukraine documents $1.18 billion in war-related eco-damage in a single week
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The aftermath of Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam (Photo: Libkos/AP)
The total cost of environmental damage inflicted on Ukraine by Russian military aggression rose by 50.3 billion hryvnias ($1.18 billion) between July 17 and July 24, 2026, the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy reported on July 27.
The ministry noted, citing a report from the Ukrainian State Environmental Inspectorate, that most of the damage was driven by land contamination and degradation, which accounted for 47.7 billion hryvnias ($1.06 billion) of the weekly surge.
This includes:
- 47.6 billion hryvnias ($1.05 billion) for land pollution
- 110.6 million hryvnias ($2.4 million) for soil pollution
Air pollution accounted for:
- 2.2 billion hryvnias ($48.9 million) from burning oil, petroleum products, and gas
- 51.6 million hryvnias ($1.1 million) from forest fires and burning vegetation
- 1.7 million hryvnias ($37,000) from burning structures and waste
The State Environmental Inspectorate noted that all documented cases are being added to an evidence base to hold the Russia legally and financially accountable. Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion in 2022, the cumulative environmental damage inflicted on Ukraine has reached 7,238,524,453,773 hryvnias (over $161 billion).
During the first 1,000 days of the war, the environmental damage inflicted on Ukraine exceeded $70 billion.
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