Ukraine is “leading the world toward a climate catastrophe” – Russian lies debunked
Russian propaganda is actively spreading fakes claiming that Ukraine’s defensive actions against Russian aggression allegedly cause an “ecocide in Donbas and a global climate catastrophe”. Analysts from the StopFake project have drawn attention to these claims.
Referring to supposedly authoritative environmental organizations, Russian media accuse Ukraine and the EU of polluting the European continent, asserting that “ecocide has become part of the tactics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine: Ukrainian troops destroy forests and strike hazardous facilities”.
“Because of the conflict in Ukraine, military spending has sharply increased, especially in Europe, which has boosted demand for explosives, steel, and other materials with a high carbon footprint. This inevitably leads to additional emissions from military activity,” propagandists complain, citing alleged eco-activists.
The International Initiative on Greenhouse Gas Accounting of War (IGGAW), which propaganda outlets refer to, in fact explicitly points to Russia’s responsibility for the climate and environmental damage inflicted on Ukraine and the world. Experts emphasize that Russian aggression not only devastates Ukraine’s environment but also has global climate consequences.
Over three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (IGGAW data for February 24, 2022 – February 23, 2025), the war caused nearly 237 million tons of CO₂ emissions. This is equivalent to the annual emissions of Austria, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia combined, or to the emissions produced by 120 million cars in one year. The climate damage caused by Russian aggression has already exceeded 43 billion dollars.
According to researchers, the main sources of pollution are:
- Military operations (37%): the use by Russian occupying forces of tanks, armored vehicles, aviation for attacks on Ukraine, and artillery shelling. A separate category highlights the negative environmental impact of Russian “Shahed” drones and other UAVs.
- Destruction of infrastructure (second largest source): Russia systematically attacks Ukrainian power plants and grids, depriving Ukrainians of electricity in winter. This has resulted in 62.2 million tons of CO₂ emissions, as well as releases of the hazardous gas SF₆, which is 24,000 times more potent than CO₂. Ukraine’s reconstruction will require enormous amounts of concrete and steel, accounting for more than 80% of future emissions.
- Fires (21%): along the front line and in rear cities. In 2024 alone, emissions from landscape and forest fires increased by 25.8 million tons of CO₂ – 113% more than in 2022–2023 combined.
Since the start of the full-scale war, Ukrainian authorities have recorded more than 8,000 environmental crimes committed by Russia (as of June 2025), including attacks on nuclear power plants, the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant in 2023, and other war crimes.
Thus, the global climate crisis and the destruction of Ukraine’s environment are being intensified not by the so-called “militarization of the West”, as propaganda falsely claims, but by Russia’s invasion itself, the daily shelling of peaceful cities, and the deliberate destruction of infrastructure.