Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak and Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Inger Andersen have discussed the issue of Russia's responsibility for environmental crimes in Ukraine.
That's according to the press service of the head of state, Ukrinform reports.
"Andrii Yermak informed the interlocutor about environmental crimes that the Russian aggressor is committing during the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Among other things, Russia is causing enormous damage to the ecological system of our country," the report said.
Yermak called on the international community, in particular the UN agencies, to more actively discuss the issue of preventing damage caused by Russia's war of aggression it is waging against Ukraine.
According to Yermak, the world has no right to remain silent when Russia destroys Ukraine's ecology every day. He said the aggressor must suffer a fair punishment for the crimes committed against Ukraine's environment.
Yermak provided figures that damage done to Ukraine's environment due to the war is estimated to be worth UAH 2 trillion, without taking into account the damage caused to the environment in temporarily occupied territories. At the same time, the threats caused by Russia's war in Ukraine are of a global nature.
"Almost 80 years after the Second World War, we actually found ourselves in the same situation. Therefore, it is necessary to talk about what is happening in the center of Europe, in the country where several nuclear power plants are located, one of which is still occupied by Russia, and no one knows what is happening there," Yermak said.
Andersen, in turn, stated her support for Ukraine in overcoming the challenges faced by the ecological system as a result of the Russian invasion. She emphasized the importance of a deeper discussion of this issue at the expert level.
Photo: Office of the President of Ukraine
