Fwd: UWEC Work Group Issue # 34

[Natalia Novoselova]

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От: UWEC Work Group <is...@uwecworkgroup.info>
Date: ср, 29 апр. 2026 г. в 04:33
Subject: UWEC Work Group Issue # 34
To: <novnat...@gmail.com>

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. This war has once again made this nuclear threat a reality.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. This war has once again made this nuclear threat a reality.      Dear Friends!   Unfortunately, war is becoming commonplace in today’s world. Governments are increasingly investing in defense programs rather than in climate change adaptation and mitigation. Moreover, environmental issues are becoming part of the propaganda that governments use to advance their interests. In 2025 for example, Russia claimed that Ukraine was launching attacks on the captured Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. However, a study by Greenpeace Ukraine, conducted in collaboration with McKenzie Intelligence Services (MIS), showed that these claims were disinformation. No evidence of attacks by Ukraine was found, while Russia continues to build up its military presence at the occupied nuclear power plant. Another example is the push to grant occupied territories environmental protection status, as is happening in Velyky Luh. When de-occupation begins, the aggressor’s propaganda machine will be able to quickly switch to telling stories about how Ukraine harms nature and destroys the environment. Meanwhile, “inconvenient” stories are hushed up by Russian propaganda. The destruction of Kreminski Forest National Park or the impact of the war and annexation on Crimea on the lives of Black Sea marine mammals are good examples. Read more about these and other examples of how Russia’s war in Ukraine is affecting the environment in our review:   Environmental consequences of the war in Ukraine: Dec 2025 – February 2026 review   This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. On April 26, 1986, a nuclear accident at the power plant resulted in a radiation release that rendered vast areas of Belarus, Ukraine and Russia uninhabitable. At the time, traces of radiation were detected as far away as Sweden. Unfortunately, nearly half a century later, Chornobyl remains a security threat to Europe. During the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and the occupation of the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant in 2022, Russian troops not only built fortifications in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone, but also stirred up radioactive dust with tanks and other military equipment, sparked forest fires and destroyed research laboratories. After a Russian drone struck the sarcophagus of destroyed reactor Unit 4 in February 2025, a fire broke out that could have led to new radiation leaks. Fortunately, the fire was extinguished, but today the protective structure requires costly repairs. This war has once again made this nuclear threat a reality. On the other hand, the lands around Chornobyl are an example of how nature recovers when left undisturbed. Read about the Chornobyl experience during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in our article:   The Zone and the war: the new tragedy of Chornobyl   The Black Sea has already suffered significantly since the war began in Ukraine in 2014. In addition to high-profile consequences such as the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant dam, there are less obvious but nonetheless tangible effects. For example, forced changes in logistics have led to more active use of the Danube Delta, a safer port than those in the Odessa region. Additionally, the construction of infrastructure projects such as the Kerch Bridge is disrupting the migration of fish and marine mammals. As a result, the local ecosystem weakens, a situation exploited by invasive species. Invasive species have been one of the Black Sea’s critical environmental problems since the second half of the 20th century, and the war has only exacerbated it. Read more:   Underwater migrants: the invasive species upsetting ecosystems in Ukraine’s Black Sea waters     We have repeatedly covered how Russia’s war in Ukraine affects not only the region but the entire world. It was Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 that brought energy security issues to the forefront. Believing that Europe could not survive without Russian resources and would abandon its support for Ukraine, Russia bet on a quick war. Nevertheless, the European Union managed to diversify its energy portfolio and phase out Russian coal, oil, and gas. The focus shifted to liquefied natural gas (LNG). But has this made Europe more energy-independent? How has the new energy strategy impacted the goal of achieving climate neutrality by 2050? Find the answers in this article, written as part of the Pulse project:   LNG dependency poses a risk to Europe’s climate ambitions   Meanwhile, discussions continue in Ukraine regarding the prospects for post-war reconstruction. The most serious challenge the country will face—and one that may take several decades to resolve—is the issue of demining and specifically, a demining strategy that takes into account environmental and ecological standards. In December 2025, the Demine Ukraine forum was held in Kyiv, where demining issues were discussed and modern technologies were presented that will ensure demining not only humanitarian in approach but also environmentally-friendly. Read more:   How new technology is helping make Ukraine’s demining process greener   Postwar reconstruction depends largely on the international community and financial support. However, ambitions in this area appear to be waning. The latest “Rapid Damage and Needs Assessments” (RDNA) report, compiled under the auspices of the World Bank, pays less and less attention to issues of ecology, environmental protection and public engagement in Ukraine’s reconstruction. It is crucial not only for the country but for the entire region to restore these ambitions; otherwise, Ukraine’s reconstruction will have consequences no less catastrophic than the war itself. For more details on the RDNA report and the World Bank’s position, read the article by our experts Eugene Simonov and Oleksiy Vasyliuk:   Building Back Business as usual: Can the Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment provide strategic planning support for green rebuilding of Ukraine?   Today, the UWEC Work Group team works on a largely volunteer basis, striving to continue and raise global awareness about the environmental consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine. In order to grow and do our work effectively, we need financial support. If you are able, we ask that you set up a monthly donation subscription or support us with a one-time donation.     Support UWEC Work Group This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. This war has once again made this nuclear threat a reality.     This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. This war has once again made this nuclear threat a reality. You can read more about the environmental consequences of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine on our website, Twitter (X), Facebook, Telegram and Bluesky.     This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. This war has once again made this nuclear threat a reality.     This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Chornobyl disaster. This war has once again made this nuclear threat a reality. We wish you strength and peace! Alex Ovchinnikov, editor of UWEC Work Group

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[Hart Hagan]

The way to end the environmental impacts of war is to refrain from starting them in the first place and to end them as quickly as possible through negotiation. 

Please see this article from Swedish scholar Glenn Diesen: How the Strategy of Fighting to the Last Ukrainian Was Sold to the Public as Morally Righteous | Professor Glenn Diesen

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[Natalia Novoselova]

Yes, a peace agreement is needed.

 

But everything now depends on the Russian government.  Ukraine constantly says that they are ready for peace. Putin still did not want peace.

 

There are many difficulties that are difficult to explain to you.

 

On May 2, I launched a petition on the Change.org platform which calls on the governments of Russia and Ukraine for peace, appealing to the fact that attacks by the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Russia's oil infrastructure cause large-scale environmental disasters in many regions of Russia - pollution of the environment with toxic carcinogenic emissions and poisoning of the population (long-term negative effect, forecasts of an increase in cancer for all people in the affected area).

The petition focuses on the drastic environmental disaster caused by the attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the oil port and oil refining plant in Tuapse (April 2026).

Here is this petition (in Russian): https://c.org/WD2gjYpFtJ

The petition can be signed by citizens of all countries, although it is aimed at Russian citizens inside Russia.

  

Here is its summary:

A severe environmental disaster is unfolding in Tuapse, caused by strikes by Ukrainian drones on oil infrastructure facilities. The attacks caused large-scale fires of oil tanks for several days, which led to serious environmental consequences for the region. The toxic carcinogenic smoke from the oil fire in the city made it impossible to breathe, thousands of tons of petroleum products got into the Black sea and river, polluting beaches with oil and creating oil film spots in the sea tens of kilometers long. Oil aerosols released into the air caused rains with an admixture of oil. The toxic smog from the burning oil tanks spread over vast distances, reaching Stavropol, Anapa and Sochi.  Environmentalists have called what is happening "the largest environmental disaster in the region" and warn of long-term negative consequences for the marine environment, soils, flora and fauna, agriculture and the health of the region's population. 

The war has already turned into an environmental disaster in many regions of Russia.

Oil storage facilities are burning under the blows of Ukrainian drones, the air, soils and reservoirs are polluted with carcinogenic emissions, the population, nature and agriculture are suffering. 

Ukraine plans to continue and intensify attacks on Russia's oil infrastructure in its various regions, as this leads to a weakening of Russia's military and economic potential and a decrease in its ability to wage war on the territory of Ukraine.

The war causes similar destruction of the natural environment in Ukraine. 

We call on the Governments of the Russian Federation and Ukraine to end the war, stop mutual attacks on industrial and energy facilities, and protect human lives and nature.

Link to the petition: https://c.org/WD2gjYpFtJ

 

I will transmit the text of the appeal and the petition itself (if it gets 2-3 thousand votes) to the Russian government. 

There is a specific strategy associated with the petition - to awaken Russians inside Russia to be outraged by the military damage caused by the war and to express their protest against the war openly.

 

With respect,

 

Novoselova Natalia

сб, 9 мая 2026 г. в 21:48, Hart Hagan <nhh...@gmail.com>: