Fire caused by a Russian drone damaged the Danube Nature Reserve by 5 billion hryvnias

The fire that engulfed the Stentsiv-Zhebriyanivsky floodplains of the Danube Biosphere Reserve on January 3-4, 2026, damaged the environment by UAH 5 billion.

This was reported by the press service of the State Ecological Inspectorate of the Southwestern District.

According to the inspection, 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, of which 459 thousand 756 tons were carbon dioxide. Such emissions have a negative impact on air quality and climate processes.

The collected materials were handed over to law enforcement agencies to provide a legal assessment and determine the causes of the fire.

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 above the forestry of the Southern Forest Office branch of the state enterprise "Forests of Ukraine", as well as to Ochakivsky Island through the Ankudynove estuary. The district administration noted that there was no threat to the residential building, and the wind was directing the fire toward the sea. The next day, the fire area increased. In total, the State Emergency Service recorded 20 fires in Odesa region: seven in Odesa city and 13 in the region, including six incidents of dry vegetation on a total area of 40 hectares.

Кирило Бойко