04 IMPACT OF WAR ON LAND, WATER AND THE ENVIRONMENT
The damage to the agricultural landscape caused by war can be broadly categorised into three types: physical, chemical and biological. War disrupts the environment primarily through the adverse effects of munitions and troop movements. The most severe pollution has occurred at ground combat sites, covering an area of approximately 134,000 km2.
Soil disturbance includes the construction of defensive structures, such as trenches, shelters, tunnels or minefields. These not only contaminate the soil but also pose a significant danger, especially to farmers. The operation of heavy military equipment (wheeled and tracked vehicles) compacts the soil, leading to erosion and making water absorption difficult. Physical damage to the soil is also caused by bombing, artillery and rocket attacks that generate craters and displace large amounts of soil, altering the soil profile and creating a "lunar landscape".
Chemical contamination of the soil is caused by the release of pollutants such as fuels, lubricants, heavy metals or radioactive material (e.g. from depleted uranium missiles). Persistent heavy metals like lead (Pb), antimony (Sb), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), nickel (Ni), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd) and semi-metals such as arsenic (As) are widely released in war-affected areas. Fires on agricultural land and in forests further contribute to chemical pollution.
Biological contamination results in the destruction of biodiversity due to physical and chemical damage to the environment. However, targeted biological contamination, such as contamination with anthrax or botulinum toxin, has not been identified in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
In March 2022, Ukrainian army engineers flooded large areas northwest of Kyiv to prevent the Russian army from advancing. Seven months later, water still covered these areas.
A satellite image from January 2023 shows a crossroads near the Ukrainian town of Bakhmut, littered with thousands of craters caused by artillery and rocket fire.
Ukrainian fields are covered with numerous anti-personnel and anti-tank mines laid by both sides of the conflict. Unexploded ordnance, often buried in the soil, poses a significant danger.
Infantry fighting vehicles, tanks, self-propelled artillery and other military equipment are very heavy. The widely used T-72 tanks weigh over 42 tonnes. The movement of hundreds and thousands of vehicles across fields causes soil compaction.
The burnt wreck of a T-72 tank. Both Ukraine and Russia have lost more than 2,000 T-72 tanks in the conflict in Ukraine. Thousands more wrecks of armoured vehicles and trucks still lie on farmland.
The burning wreckage of an SU 35S bomber shot down over Ukraine in April 2022.
The wreckage of a KA 52 attack helicopter. The helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing in a field near Kyiv in late February 2022.
Empty shells from a D 30 howitzer. Russian and Ukrainian artillery are estimated to fire approximately 24,000 shells per day.
Areas of ground combat
Territories occupied by Russian troops
Territories regained by Ukraine
Fire in a grain storage facility. Donetsk region, May 2022