Russian occupants have almost completely destroyed the Svyatye Gory national park in Donetsk Region
The damage is estimated at five and a half million hryvnias.
Since March 2022, most of the park has been in a war zone and activities have been suspended because of the risks to human life.
The press service of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources said:
As of today, 80% of this park has been destroyed due to the actions of the Russian occupiers. Instead of forests, black earth has been burned in places. The park's infrastructure has suffered great losses - vehicles, computer equipment and other equipment have been destroyed or stolen. Up to 60-70% of pine plantations - about 5 thousand ha of forests - have been destroyed. The estimated cost of damage to the park's property is already about 5.5 million hryvnia.
During the visit, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strelets said:
The priority of the Ministry of Environmental Protection was, is and will be to document every crime of the occupants against nature. This will be a long and troublesome path, but there are no alternatives. We must collect all data on the destruction of the environment as a result of military operations. Russians must answer for every tree burned in Ukraine. This is the position of the Ministry of Environmental Protection, and the international community supports us in this. While our Armed Forces destroy the enemy on the front line, we must do everything for life, d