In July, the occupiers destroyed more than 10,000 trees and plants in "Askania-Nova"

In July, Russian shelling caused fires in the "Askania-Nova" Biosphere Reserve. Approximately 10,800 trees and other plants were destroyed there.

This was reported by the State Environmental Inspectorate of the Southern District.

The fire also engulfed 139.42 hectares of agricultural land, 990 square meters of privately and municipally owned property, as well as 1,706.9 hectares of forests and other plantations within the nature reserve fund.

Experts documented the environmental consequences of Russia’s armed aggression, calculated the damage, and forwarded the materials to law enforcement agencies. 

According to an analysis of Sentinel-2 satellite images from June 24 and 29, 2026, the area of burned land in the “Pivdennyi” protected zone of the “Askania-Nova” Nature Reserve totaled1,928 hectares. In addition, the fire that broke out on June 29 spread to agricultural lands in the buffer zone, where another 566.6 hectares were burned.

The reserve noted that the fires destroyed virgin steppe habitats with plant communities listed in Ukraine’s Red Book. In particular, the habitats of Ukrainian feather grass, hairy feather grass, and Lessing’s feather grass—all listed in Ukraine’sRed Book—were affected. Populations of other rare plants were also affected by the fires, including Taliyev’s cornflower, Henning’s astragalus, and Regel’s onion.

Юлія Калабайда