Ecology

The unique natural reserve fund of the peninsula is being brutally and methodically destroyed by the occupying state for over the last seven years.

Aggressive militarization of the peninsula, its transformation into a solid military base stuffed with all possible types of weapons, including nuclear and prohibited by international conventions – chemical weapons, turns into constant ecological threat not only for the peninsula, but also for the entire Black Sea Basin. Exploitation of conservation areas for military exercises with combat firing is a common phenomenon under temporary occupation of the peninsula by the Russian Federation. 

Ecologists register irreparable damage caused to the offshore of the Azov and Black Seas as a result of the rapid construction of the bridge over the Kerch Strait and the federal highway “Tavrida”. The consequences are shoaling of the water area in the locations of load-bearing structures.

Also, illegal extraction of resources gradually leads to irreversible damage to the ecosystem, especially to endangered flora and fauna.

Additionally, the Russian occupation administration is extracting toxic sand for the construction of the Tavrida highway near the city of Kerch in the Upper -Churbash and Lower-Churbash tailings ponds.  

Under the pretext of reviewing the status of reserves, their areas are reduced, and active construction instantly begins in the respective territories.

40 out of 48 valuable objects of national significance of the Ukrainian natural-reserve fund at the Crimean peninsula were downgraded to regional significance. Thus, it makes them extremely vulnerable to becoming a part of industrial and recreational projects.

The total area of reserves that have been damaged is 153 ha, and more than 110,000 ha of forests have been affected detrimentally by the occupation authorities in Crimea.

The Russian occupation administration overuse water resources for the construction of military infrastructure on the peninsula, which caused depletion and mineralization of water. As a result, the civilian population is suffering from a lack of fresh water.