Kyiv’s minister says Russia must take responsibility for the environmental damage caused by its invasion of Ukraine

Ukrainian Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets said at UN climate talks on Monday (November 14) that Russia must accept responsibility for the environmental damage caused by its invasion of Ukraine.

‘Russia must be held accountable not only to Ukraine, but to the entire world,’ he said. The key issue, he continued, is that because Ukraine understands the damages, it will be difficult for them to file lawsuits for each damage caused.

Strilets also announced that Ukraine is now launching a platform to assess the environmental impact of Russian military activity, according to AFP.

Kyiv hopes that this new platform will unify international methods for assessing environmental and climate damage.

During the European Union in July, he informed the minister that the conflict had destroyed woods, polluted water, damaged mines and other resources. He claimed that Russian troops had damaged nearly three million hectares (7.4 million acres) of Ukrainian forest.

In response to this damage, the 27-nation bloc promised to help Kyiv with aid including financial support.