Environmental damage to Odesa and Mykolaiv regions from the war reached 484 billion

The State Ecological Inspectorate of the Southwestern District has released generalized information on the damage caused to the environment in Odesa and Mykolaiv regions as a result of armed aggression.

According to the inspectorate's press service, the total environmental losses in all areas amounted to UAH 484 billion 116 million.

Land suffered the most, with total damage to the land fund reaching UAH 97.3 billion. The damage to the atmosphere of the two regions was estimated at over UAH 24.2 billion. Water resources, including the sea, were damaged by more than UAH 64.5 billion,

However, the territories and objects of the nature reserve fund suffered the greatest losses. The damage to the reserves was estimated at over UAH 297.9 billion. In total, the inspectors drew up 1,479 acts confirming the environmental damage. The collected materials are used to create a unified register of damages and serve as evidence for crimes against the environment committed as a result of armed aggression.

Earlier, the damage caused by the fire that engulfed the Stentsiv-Zhebriyanivsky floodplains of the Danube Biosphere Reserve on January 3-4, 2026, was estimated at UAH 5 billion. The fire destroyed about 645 hectares of floodplain vegetation and reeds, which led to significant damage to the region's natural ecosystems. As a result of the fire, almost 466 thousand tons of pollutants were released into the air, including 459 thousand 756 tons of carbon dioxide. Such emissions have a negative impact on the state of the air and climate processes.

On January 2, the operational headquarters of the Izmail District Military Administration reported that during an enemy air attack using one unmanned aerial vehicle in the Danube River Delta, a reed fire was detected on Ankudyniv Island. At that time, the fire covered an area of about 10 hectares. However, due to difficult terrain conditions, emergency services are currently unable to access the fire.

The fire spread from the island to the lands of the Vylkove forestry of Izmail over the forestry of the Southern Forest Office branch of the state enterprise Forests of Ukraine, as well as to Ochakivsky Island through the mouth of Ankudynove.

Кирило Бойко