President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced the colossal environmental damage to the country as a result of the war.
"Millions of hectares of forest were burned by shelling. Almost two hundred thousand hectares of our land are contaminated with unexploded mines and shells. Dozens of coal mines are flooded, including the mine in which an underground nuclear test explosion was carried out in 1979... This is the “Yunkom” mine in the Donetsk region. It is located on the territory occupied by Russia. It has been flooded for several years - precisely because of the occupiers," he said on Tuesday, speaking via video link at the G-20 summit.
"Only the de-occupation of our territory can provide the conditions for the elimination of this threat. It is impossible to accurately calculate the amount of atmospheric pollution from burnt oil depots and other fires... As well as from blown up sewage facilities, burned chemical plants, innumerable burial sites of slayed animals," he said, adding: "Just imagine this – due to the Russian aggression, 6 million domestic animals died. 6 million! These are official numbers. At least 50,000 dolphins were killed in the Black Sea."
It is necessary, he said, to find common answers to all the environmental threats created by the war.
"This is not just a Ukrainian problem. This is a challenge for the whole world," Zelensky said, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
