V. Putin's criminal actions have sparked concerns both about the pollution caused by military operations and about a wider war in which nuclear weapons could be used. The possibility of a nuclear catastrophe is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the countless consequences the invasion of Ukraine has already caused for the environment.
If one takes into account the rising emissions due to military activities, the volume of leaks and toxic smoke clouds caused by the destruction of industrial and fuel depots, the contamination of water and soil with heavy metals and chemicals from bombs and weapons, and the destruction of fields of crops and wildlife – the impact is staggering.
On 3 March, alarm bells were already ringing in this regard, as fighting took place near Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhzhia, and a few days earlier, increased radiation levels were observed in the vicinity of the shut-down Chernobyl NPP.
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The question is wider – what exactly, and to what level, do you wish to restore in the environment? If you have severely damaged this environment, as in the case of war, and destroyed ecosystems, the environment in question will never return to its previous state.