The amount of waste from the war in Ukraine has equaled the total from World War II across all of Europe.

Over 325,000 tons of waste have accumulated in Ukraine from destroyed Russian equipment alone. In addition, there is waste from the destruction of residential and transport infrastructure, Deputy Minister of Ecology of Ukraine Yevgeny Fedorenko said during SOR27. According to the deputy minister, about 15.2 billion tons of waste has been generated just from the destruction of buildings and structures in the de-occupied territories of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions. More than 200,000 cars and trucks have been destroyed in Ukraine. “The longer this waste remains on Ukrainian land, the more damage it will cause to the environment, polluting the soil, water, and air, as well as causing additional greenhouse gas emissions and affecting the climate,” Fedorenko emphasized. Work has already begun to clear these areas where possible. However, the country does not currently have sufficient financial and technical resources to resolve this problem.