«Environmental» aggression against Ukraine: a criminological assessment of the consequences and the legal mechanism for determining their extent

Abstract

This article presents a criminological assessment and description of the consequences of armed aggression against Ukraine in the field of environmental protection. Based on statistical data regarding criminal law countermeasures, the conclusion is drawn that the practice of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity continues to be carried out by the senior political and military leadership of the aggressor state, as well as by the direct perpetrators of such crimes. It is proposed to categorize the assessment of harm and losses to the state into humanitarian, economic, military, law enforcement, environmental, and cultural-religious dimensions. Emphasis is placed on the difficulty of summarizing and systematizing the consequences of armed aggression, given the ongoing and incomplete nature of the data received, its incompleteness, and other factors.
The environmental and nature conservation impacts of armed aggression are detailed in terms of damage and losses: 1) to nature reserves and other protected areas; 2) resulting from the release of hazardous substances into the atmosphere; 3) to land resources; 4) to forest areas; 5) to water resources; 6) from direct combat operations; 7) to infrastructure and industrial facilities. A review was conducted of the laws and regulations governing the procedure for determining the harm and damage caused to the environmental and nature conservation sector as a result of armed aggression. Based on the findings, a number of observations were made regarding provisions that could potentially hinder the achievement of the objective, as well as provisions that would be desirable to include in the document.