“For the first time in history” Ukraine is investigating crimes against the environment as war crimes

Crimes against the environment in the course of Russian aggression are “crimes against Ukraine as a state,” Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said during the international conference United for Justice. United for Nature (“United for Justice. United for Nature”) in Kyiv, October 20. His words are quoted by the Prosecutor General’s Office.

The conference, according to the wording of the Prosecutor General’s Office, is dedicated to “environmental challenges associated with the destructive impact of Russian aggression.”

According to him, in 2022 the Office of the Prosecutor General focused on investigating crimes against the natural environment: “We are the first in the history of mankind to investigate crimes against the natural environment as war crimes. We cooperate with all our international partners in this area. Being the first, we have no right to make a mistake.”

Kostin added that the Ukrainian law enforcement system aims, in particular, to “create appropriate standards for bringing to justice” those guilty of war crimes in other countries as well.

“It should fulfill a preventive role so that other aggressors understand that responsibility for crimes against the environment, as for war crimes, will be full,” he explained.

The Prosecutor General’s Office cites the assessment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources, according to which the damage to the environment of Ukraine caused by Russian aggression exceeds 58 billion dollars.