Crucial

The marbled polecat is a rare animal found in the Donetsk and Luhansk areas of Ukraine, as well as the Azov steppes. In the area that is currently occupied by russia, it was formerly protected. Scientists thought there were just 100 marbled polecats in all of Ukraine, but in recent years, reports of the animal have increased. We talked to one of the people who witnessed it to find out what is so special about the marbled polecat.

Ground teeth, lost eyesight, and repetitive movements of former circus bears tell us more about training than a million interviews with their abusers. That's why we asked the staff of bear rehabilitation centers about the condition and fate of their residents. This is the first article of the Hey STOP project, a series of publications about the exploitation of animals in circuses.

Forty years ago, UNESCO recognized Askania-Nova as one of the world's model natural reserves. It is the oldest steppe biosphere reserve globally and the largest in Europe. However, two and a half years ago, Askania fell under russian occupation and now faces severe neglect. In an interview for the #StopEcocideUkraine project, Reserve Director Viktor Shapoval talked about the devastating impact, including animal deaths, trenches in virgin steppes, and fires.

The Exclusion Zone? No, it’s a zone of dual ecocide, a zone of lessons unlearned. This is how Ukraine’s Chornobyl might be described post-2022. One might think that after a global-scale disaster under Soviet rule, russians would have learned that where there’s a risk of radiation contamination, extreme caution is paramount, as the effects touch everyone on the planet. Yet, here they are, repeating history. We delve into this as part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project.

Since the beginning of the russian-Ukrainian war, the Truth Hounds NGO has been documenting and investigating war crimes, human rights violations, and environmental damage. As part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project, the organization’s co-director and PhD in International Law Dmytro Koval told us who and how to bring to justice for ecocide in Ukraine.

Lennard De Klerk is a Dutch businessman and scholar who was perhaps the first in the world to study the impact of military conflicts on the climate. His research primarily focuses on the war in Ukraine, but the researcher argues that humanity will feel its effects far beyond the country's borders. Learn more about these consequences in the article published as part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project.

Kamianska Sich is a place rich in history and home to a unique steppe ecosystem. Two Ukrainian scientists grew so fond of this area that they dedicated themselves to studying and protecting it. Even now, after nine months of russian occupation and under constant shelling, they continue their work. Learn about what they have discovered so far and what they plan to explore next in this article, which is part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project.

How trees become a living shield during war, how animals settle in shell craters, and how lichens signal the revival of nature. Read the report from a Ukrainian national park near the russian border.

As part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project, we talk about what is often grandly called "love for the homeland"—a feeling deeply rooted in memories of birds singing in Sumy, encounters with wild animals near Prypiat, and night swims in Crimea. But most of all, this love lives in dreams of these places surviving, so we can one day return.

Black water. Shores covered in dead fish, crayfish, and snails. The unbearable stench. These are the consequences of pollution that came from russia and poisoned the Seym and Desna rivers in August. Local communities are still assessing the consequences, but they are already bracing for further contamination. This report from the scene reveals that russia commits environmental crimes not only through warfare.

Everyone in Ukraine and beyond should know the answers to these ten questions, share them, and never forget about russian ecocide. Otherwise, the perpetrators of environmental crimes will remain unpunished.

russia's war against Ukraine is destroying life and dividing families on both land and sea. This includes both people and animals. As part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project, we explore the impact of the war on marine mammals.

How does explosive ordnance affect wildlife and natural areas? How long will it take to remove these threats from unique natural environments? We examine these issues as part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project.

What is happening to Ukrainian nature reserves under occupation? The destruction of entire ecosystems for the sake of profit, consumerism, and russia's further expansionist ambitions, the killing and theft of animals... Read about these and other russian environmental crimes in the OSINT investigation as part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project.

As part of the We Be of One Blood project, we look back to the times when the foundations of blood donation were first being discovered. It was thanks to the research and experiments that began in the 17th century that lives are now saved — both human and animal!

What crimes against the environment russia will pay for and how to restore Ukraine using European standards

Once known as the Grand Meadow, the ancient Ukrainian steppe, the area has become the bed of the Kakhovka Reservoir by Soviet engineers who built a dam. The recent act of ecocide by the Russians, who blew up the dam, has been studied under the #StopEcocideUkraine project to understand how nature is recovering.

On the anniversary of the Kakhovka catastrophe, as part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project, we will hear firsthand accounts from eyewitnesses and immerse ourselves in their memories. Their testimonies reveal that ecocide is not an abstraction but a tangible reality — one that signifies the deliberate destruction of a specific area and the lives of the people and animals who once thrived there. russia must be held accountable

Is it possible to hold russia accountable for ecocide and compel it to compensate for the damage caused to nature? As part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project, we are looking at how Ukrainian laws and international norms can help in it; what needs to be changed and what politicians are taking towards this.

As part of the #StopEcocideUkraine project, we are exploring the environmental consequences of the First and Second World Wars: which ones have been overcome, and which ones we haven't yet recovered from. This experience provides tools and motivates us to seek new solutions to prevent russian environmental crimes from destroying our environment.