Ecological war: how Donbas is turning into a new Chornobyl
The environmental situation in Donbas may threaten all of Europe.
Another online conference of the participants of the "July 16 Initiative" was held, dedicated to discussing the topic "The environmental dimension of the peace settlement process in Donbas."
"Apostrophe" tells about the main points voiced by its participants: OLEKSANDR CHALYI, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine, 1st Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine for European Integration (1998-2004), Advisor to the President of Ukraine on Foreign Policy (2006-2008); YEVHEN YAKOVLIEV, Doctor of Technical Sciences, Chief Researcher at the Institute of Telecommunications, Global Information Space of the National Academy of Sciences; VYACHESLAV POTAPENKO - Doctor of Economic Sciences, founder of the Institute of Green Economy, director of the "Holosiivskyi" National Nature Park; DMYTRO YERMOLAEV - philosopher, expert at SG SOFIA, editor-in-chief of "Horizons of Events" magazine and director of the Strategic Group "Sofia" ANDRIY YERMOLAEV.
Ukraine has faced a specific ecological war. There will be no winners in it. But there will be a lot of destruction. More than 200,000 people on both sides of the demarcation line in Donbas can be considered environmental refugees. The situation threatens not only the region but also neighboring regions, and also poses a danger to global ecology.
Environmental imperative
After the start of the conflict in eastern Ukraine, the situation in the Donbas mines, especially in its uncontrolled part, actually got out of control. Now any mine is a man-made dangerous object, says Vyacheslav Potapenko.
According to him, the environmental monitoring system is not needed by anyone, because in this case, the volumes of the shadow economy flourishing in Donbas will be revealed. Therefore, environmentalists do not receive money. For the situation to change, the will of the central executive bodies is needed. But that's like filing a police report against themselves.
Meanwhile, Donbas is the most anomalous natural and man-made system in the world, says Yevhen Yakovliev. Throughout its history, there have been more than 600 mines in the region. The area of influence of the mining industry in Donbas occupies about 15 thousand square kilometers. Today, the closure of mines is uncontrolled and takes place in conditions of military operations. 80% of the mines are located in uncontrolled territory and they are located higher than those that remained west of the demarcation line.
The ecological balance of Donbas has long been maintained by lowering the level of groundwater. And now groundwater is rising, displacing groundwater to the surface. This can be seen, for example, in the area of Pervomaisk, Zolote, and the "Batkivshchyna" mine in the frontline zone. In particular, at the mine in Zolote, 50% of the mining fund was destroyed as a result of a sudden breakthrough due to the uncoordinated flooding of neighboring mines in uncontrolled territory, the scientist says.
Another breakthrough may occur in the area of the "Toretskyi Coal" enterprise, according to the schedule of groundwater flow from uncontrolled territory to the territory controlled by the Ukrainian authorities.
The time until most of the mines are flooded is up to 5 years. In addition, many mines in uncontrolled territory contain a large amount of toxic waste, for example, the "Oleksandr-Zakhid" mine in the Horlivka area.
During flooding, the migration of toxic elements - copper, zinc, lead - increases. In addition, there are up to 2 thousand kopanky - independently equipped mines, which are a source of contaminated water leakage. The groundwater of central Donbas is now completely polluted.
Children in the controlled territory of Luhansk region under the age of 4 are 68 times more likely to get sick due to the consumption of chemically contaminated water, Yakovliev notes. In his opinion, it is necessary to drill deep artesian wells with drinking water for the population in Donetsk and Luhansk regions, just as it was done during the Chernobyl disaster, to protect the population from consuming dangerous compounds.
In addition, a large amount of methane is released from the mines, there are signs of radon release, and there is a danger of its accumulation in the basements of residential buildings. These same houses are located in a seismic activity zone.
It is necessary to create an analytical group and conduct a comprehensive survey of the mines. The dynamics of the ecological reformatting of Donbas should become an imperative in the work of the Trilateral Contact Group, and in the decisions made by the state leadership. "It seems that today Donbas is broken off, torn off at all levels," says Yakovliev.
However, Russia, in the absence of correct monitoring, behaves selfishly. They have up to 10 protective installations to maintain water levels, and they are not interested in the situation in Ukraine.
"The more horror, the more attention to the problem"
"The destruction of the engineering structure is very dangerous. In some places, there are even hidden nuclear waste. A stable truce creates prerequisites for dialogue. Environmental problems cannot be
to ignore," Oleksandr Chaly agrees with the previous speakers.
"The ecological imperative must become a key element for a peaceful settlement of the situation in Donbas and contribute to attracting peacekeeping efforts at global and regional levels. The question of creating pinpoint peacekeeping components for the protection of the most dangerous objects should be raised. For this, we could find a consensus between Russia and the collective West," he says.
Oleksandr Chaly also reminds that the Zaporizhzhia NPP is located near the occupied territories, so the topic of the water balance of Donbas has a special sensitivity. Appeals can also be made on the basis of the Budapest Memorandum. "Today, the ecological imperative must be transformed into certain diplomatic steps," Chaly believes.
He also emphasizes that the problem of methane emissions from old mines can be very important for Europeans. "If methane goes into the atmosphere on an industrial scale, it will be a methane Chernobyl," the diplomat says. In his opinion, water pollution contributes to the spread of viral diseases - and this is very relevant now, given the coronavirus pandemic. One should not forget about the "Klyvazh" object, where in 1979 an underground nuclear explosion for peaceful purposes with a power of 0.2-0.3 kt in TNT equivalent occurred.
"The more horror, the more attention to the problem," Chaly says. In his opinion, "the terrible ecological imperative" can become a way for diplomatic progress on the Donbas issue, and this topic can even be discussed at meetings in the "Normandy format."
Ecological weapon
"The military-political elite of Ukraine has a certain imperative regarding environmental issues in Donbas. All these years they have ignored the consensus of scientists and already developed measures. The problem is presented as a natural disaster that can only be fought by demanding compensation. No one is going to deal with the ecology of Donbas at the official level," says Dmytro Yermolaiev.
Both sides of the conflict view the situation in Donbas as an ecological weapon, he believes. It was decided that the disaster should be allowed to unfold, to fully materialize, to push a flow of economic refugees, and to deal with the catastrophic consequences as they arise. At the same time, Dmytro Yermolaiev is convinced that in the coming months, environmental order must be introduced into the peacekeeping process.
"In the modern world, there is no need to shoot - it is quite enough to criminally do nothing. In 20 years, there will be no deep analysis of why the territory of Donbas became uninhabitable. There will be no deep analysis of the causes and failures of diplomacy. There will simply be the fact of the existence of the territory. Now it is still a living country," says Andriy Yermolaiev.
There is a threat of Donbas turning into "Chernobyl 2.0" - and there will be no questions about borders, he believes. Already now, to solve the problem, it is necessary to involve people from the uncontrolled territory, as well as representatives of the "Normandy format" countries.
Dmytro MALYSHKO
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