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Ruins, broken roads, craters from impacts. Drone footage shows the destruction left behind by Russia's attack on Ukraine. According to official UN estimates, nearly nine thousand civilians have been killed so far. The number of fallen soldiers on both sides can only be estimated, but it is much higher. But the war also has consequences that will go beyond a possible ceasefire one day.
Jörg Römer, DER SPIEGEL
"The environmental factor of this war is indeed something that has not been debated so far, at least not in the general public. Of course, there are more important things at the moment. It's about saving lives. But the environmental consequences of this war will keep us busy for a very long time."
Especially since Ukraine is big. With an area of more than 600,000 square kilometers, it is the largest state whose borders lie entirely in Europe. Around 20 percent of them are currently occupied by Russia, but a much larger part of the country has experienced hostilities and rocket fire. An important factor is time: ammunition in particular decomposes very slowly, the process can take up to 300 years.
Unexploded ordnance is a particular problem.
Jörg Römer, DER SPIEGEL
"Now, of course, the effect on ammunition that has been fired and has not exploded, for example, i.e. unexploded ordnance – we can assume that there will be a high number in Ukraine due to the use of massive Russian artillery – is more of a long-term one. So if things have been lying in the ground for years, then they are gradually released, the toxins. And so there are quite a few studies on it. For example, remains of copper were still found on the battlefields of the First World War. So it is assumed that even today there are thousands of tons of copper residues that can be found in the soil in today's Belgium in the combat zone. So it's enormous how long-term the damage caused by wars will be."
Another problem is posed by military vehicles left on the battlefields.
Jörg Römer, DER SPIEGEL
"If we now think, for example, of a tank that has been destroyed, that there are large amounts of pollutants in it, which of course should not be released into the environment. Fuels, lubricants. A T72, a typical tank, as used by the Russians and also the Ukrainians, has a tank that fits almost 1600 liters. So we can assume that if such quantities have not been destroyed by explosions and the wrecks are completely burned out, that there are still insane amounts of such fuels in it, which of course hardly anyone will eliminate in the combat situation. And of course, that's also something that will become a problem in the long run."
Not only soils and waters are affected, but also the air: The environmental protection organization Greenpeace has published a map on its homepage on which it documents special incidents. These include, for example, fires triggered by shelling at oil depots or forest fires in the Luhansk region.
In addition, the air is polluted by artillery fire and explosions of explosives from missiles and drones.
Jörg Römer, DER SPIEGEL
"I found it very interesting that in Kyiv, for example, shortly after the start of the war, a 27-fold increase in air pollution was measured. I think that shows how strong the consequences can be. And Kiev was a combat zone in the first weeks of the war, but not in the way it is now in many areas in the east of the country. And I think we can see from this that there is a heavy burden fundamentally from such wars."
Landmines pose another environmental hazard. Not only do they injure or kill civilians long after the troops have withdrawn, but those booby traps that are buried in the ground and do not detonate also release poisons. Finding them all and rendering them harmless is a mammoth task.
Jörg Römer, DER SPIEGEL
"We can assume that it will take decades before the eviction has even taken place. But just because of the heavy pollution with heavy metals, for example, I think the consequences will be felt in the environment for a very long time to come."