The War in Ukraine Led to the Destruction of Almost 1,600 Square Kilometres of Forests

Between 2022 and 2023, in the first two years of the Ukrainian war, almost 1,600 square kilometres of forests were destroyed. The scale of devastation, along with its environmental, social, and economic consequences, is difficult to quantify.

The findings - published in Global Ecology and Conservation - is the result of research that combined satellite images of the conflict-affected areas with an artificial intelligence system based on machine learning.

“Along with the terrible loss of life, the war in Ukraine has also caused serious environmental damage, starting with the destruction of vast forested areas”, says Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Professor at the Department of Biological, Geological, and Environmental Sciences at the University of Bologna, who led the research. “The damage to biodiversity and ecosystem processes, such as water filtration, soil formation, and climate regulation is difficult to quantify”.

According to the analysis system developed by the researchers, Ukraine lost 808 square kilometres of forest in 2022 and 772 square kilometres in 2023, mainly in war-torn regions: 180 square kilometres in Donetsk Oblast, 181 square kilometres in Kharkiv Oblast, 214 square kilometres in Kherson Oblast, 268 square kilometres in Kyiv Oblast, and 195 square kilometres in Luhansk Oblast.

Above: forest loss in Ukrainian regions in 2022 and 2023. (A) Forest loss in 2022 and (B) in 2023. (C) Forest loss and gain in 2023 compared to 2022. Below: high-resolution satellite images of selected areas such as (D) the Dnieper River affected by drought, (E) damaged vegetation along the river and (F) damage in the Kyiv Oblast close to urban areas. Credit: Global Ecology and Conservation

Researchers believe fire is the main cause of forest loss. In March 2022, for instance, many forest fires were detected in the Kherson Oblast, and Russian troops tried to hinder attempts to extinguish the flames. The valuable biodiversity hotspot of Cape Kinburn, in the southern part of the Mykolaiv Oblast, is another example: fires are estimated to have destroyed between 20-30% of the area, which is now occupied by the Russian military.

“When the war ends, there will be a need for strong and efficient environmental policies to stop biodiversity loss, promote reforestation and restore ecosystems”, added Cazzolla Gatti. “Reforested areas may contribute to the creation of ecological humanitarian corridors and support demilitarisation, creating buffer zones to build and preserve peace”.

The research, titled “An early warning system based on machine learning detects huge forest loss in Ukraine during the war “, was published in the journal Global Ecology and Conservation. The authors are Roberto Cazzolla Gatti, Rocío Beatriz Cortés Lobos and Duccio Rocchini from the University of Bologna, together with Michele Torresani from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.