Russian occupation forces continue to commit barbaric crimes against the environment in Ukraine.
Any Ukrainian can report an environmental crime using the web resource ecozagroza.gov.ua or the EcoZagroza mobile application.
On August 2, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine announced that the updated “Air Alert” application will feature notifications about chemical and radiation safety threats. The app will also send text messages with recommended actions depending on the type of threat.
Ukraine will benefit from the support of the Czech Republic in post-war environmental restoration. This was discussed at a meeting between Ruslan Strilets, the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, and Radek Matula, the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ukraine.
“During the 5 months of the war, the Russians damaged with trenches and burned an area of forests comparable to half of the Czech Republic. About 1 million hectares of our protected areas are under threat of destruction. After the war, all these areas must be demined and restored. Ukraine appreciates the attention of the Czech Republic to all our European integration initiatives and is grateful that the post-war reconstruction of our country is among the 5 main priorities of the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU. We count on the further support of the Czech Republic,” – noted Ruslan Strilets.
Nuclear and radiation safety threats
The artillery strikes Russian troops are carrying out from Europe’s largest Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant underline Russia’s irresponsible attitude to nuclear safety.
This was stated by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on August 1 during his speech at the UN Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference.
According to the head of American diplomacy, Russia is now using the plant as a military base to fire at Ukrainians, knowing that they can’t and won’t shoot back because they might accidentally strike a nuclear – a reactor or highly radioactive waste in storage. That brings the notion of having a human shield to an entirely different and horrific level.
On August 1, Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), expressed concerns over threats to the nuclear and physical safety of one of the world’s largest nuclear power plants. According to the head of the IAEA, the situation at the Zaporizhzhya NPP is becoming more perilous by the day.
More details about threats to radiation safety due to the Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhya NPP can be read in the front page article of The New York Times, published on August 1.
[Source: https://mepr.gov.ua/en/news/39470.html]