The greatest damage so far has been to forests: nearly 3 million hectares (11,583 square miles) have been damaged due to Russian aggression. This is almost one-third of Ukraine's forested area. Almost 500,000 hectares are now under temporary occupation or in the combat zone.
National parks, occupied
Strelets also noted that 10 national parks, eight nature reserves, and two biosphere reserves are currently under Russian occupation. He said 600 species of fauna and 750 species of flora are "under threat of extinction."
More 170,000 residential buildings have been destroyed across Ukraine in one year of the war.
Also, the vast territories of Ukraine are polluted with mines. Considering the scale of mine pollution, de-mining efforts may last up to 70 years.
The damage has been tallied for the first year of the war.
Dead and wounded
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has confirmed 8,101 civilian deaths and 13,479 injuries in Ukraine since Russia's full-scale invasion began. However, these figures do not consider the number of dead and wounded in the occupied territory.
In the year since the start of the full-scale war, the Ukrainian army has lost up to 13,000 soldiers, Mykhailo Podoliak, an adviser to the head of the Presidential Office, said in December.
Most acknowledge that death tolls of soldiers on both sides of the war are hard to verify, both because of access to the front line and because the warring parties tend to play down their own losses and inflate the losses of the enemy.
Property and infrastructure
More 170,000 residential buildings have been destroyed across Ukraine in one year of the war. This is the data as of January 2023 provided by the Ministry of Communities, Territories, and Infrastructure Development of Ukraine. However, these statistics continue to grow daily as the war continues after the Russian army shells Ukrainian cities, villages, and towns.
The most striking example of the destructive actions of the occupiers is Mariupol, which was destroyed by bombing last spring. Half of the city's residential buildings and 95% of its infrastructure were destroyed. Now the Russians are demolishing the damaged buildings to hide the traces of their crimes.
In the Luhansk region, Sievierodonetsk, Popasna, Rubizhne, Shchastia, and Kreminna were also largely destroyed during the fighting. According to the authorities, Lysychanska was a little more "lucky": infrastructure and residential buildings there have been destroyed by 60%.
The number of destroyed smaller towns and villages is not yet known
Also, in the Donetsk region, Volnovakha, Vuhledar, Maryinka, and Lyman are practically in ruins, and Soledar was destroyed.
The hottest spot right now on the frontline is Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. Due to regular shelling, the city has been essentially destroyed, and there has been no gas, water, or electricity for a long time.
The cities of Kupiansk and Izyum, which have already been de-occupied in the Kharkiv region, were also severely damaged. Since leaving Kherson in November, Russian troops have been shelling the city daily, and 30-40% of the buildings there have been damaged.
Beyond these large and medium-sized cities, the number of destroyed smaller towns and villages is not yet known; they could be dozens or even hundreds.
Cultural heritage
Russia has destroyed more than 500 objects of Ukraine’s cultural infrastructure (museums, theaters, historical buildings, etc.), reports the Ministry of Culture and Information.
"A total of 1,322 objects of cultural infrastructure have already been damaged due to Russian aggression in Ukraine. Almost a third of them – 505 objects – have been destroyed. Cultural infrastructure suffered the greatest losses and damages in the regions of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Luhansk.”
A final point is worth remembering: the data given on Ukrainian civilian casualties and physical destruction during the year of war is feared to be significantly higher, since the toll in territories under the control of the Russian army is still unknown.
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