Friends,
We are forming an Eve Tetaz affinity group to take action in D.C. in September. Mother Earth is in trouble the kind we have never seen before. Climate chaos is with us, and we need to take action. If interested in joining us, let me know. Kagiso, Max
https://www.commondreams.org/news/thunberg-joins-group-to-investigate-ecocide-in-ukraine
Swedish eco-activist Greta Thunberg (L), Vice
President of European Parliament Heidi Gautala (2nd L), former Swedish Deputy
Prime Minister Margot Wallstrom (C), Head of the Office of the President of
Ukraine Andriy Yermak (2nd R) and former Irish President Mary Robinson (R)
attend a press conference after the first meeting of the International Working
Group on Environmental Consequences of Military Actions held in Kyiv, Ukraine
on June 29, 2023. (Photo: Vladimir Shtanko/Anadolu Agency via Getty
Images)
'Environmental
Destruction Is a Form of Warfare': Thunberg Joins Ecocide Investigation in
Ukraine
Thunberg said Russian forces
"are deliberately targeting the environment and people's livelihoods and
homes."
Jun 30,
2023
12
Swedish climate activist Greta
Thunberg condemned the "ecocide" wrought by Russia's
invasion of Ukraine as she visited Kyiv Thursday.
Thunberg was there to meet with Ukranian President Volodymyr
Zelenskyy as part of a newly formed working group with other European leaders
to assess and remedy the ecological destruction caused by the war.
"Ecocide and environmental destruction is a form of
warfare… as Ukrainians by this point know all too well—and so does
Russia," Thunberg said at a press conference reported by The
Journal.
"I do not think that the world reaction to this ecocide was
enough."
Thunberg added that Russian
forces "are deliberately targeting the environment and people's
livelihoods and homes. And therefore also destroying lives. Because this is
after all a matter of people," according to The Associated Press.
The goal of the working group is to investigate the extent of
ecological damage in Ukraine, determine ways of holding Russia to account, and
start to repair the damage. In addition to Thunberg, members include former
Swedish Deputy Prime Minister Margot Wallström, European Parliament Vice
President Heidi Hautala, and former Irish President Mary Robinson.
"The environment should no longer be the silent victim of
war," Ukraine's prosecutor general Andriy Kostin tweeted Thursday on
the occasion of the meeting.
Kostin said that the war had seeded around 30% of Ukraine's land
area with explosives and damaged more than 2.4 million hectares of forest.
"The blowing up of the Kakhovka Dam caused the most
significant environmental disaster in Ukraine since Chernobyl," he added.
The June 6 dam collapse flooded large swaths of territory in
southern Ukraine and the Russian-occupied region of Kherson, Reuters reported. The collapse
killed dozens, forced around 2,200
people from their homes in Ukrainian-controlled territory, spilled hundreds of
tons of engine oil into the Dnipro River, and threatened drinking water
supplies, according to The Journal and Doctors of the World.
The incident initially severely affected around 17,000 people and could impact
more than 42,000. Both Russia and Ukraine have blamed the other for the
collapse, Reuters reported.
Thunberg also criticized the international community for their
response.
"I do not think that the world reaction to this ecocide was
enough," she said. "We have to talk louder about it, we have to raise
awareness about what is going on."
Kostin said that Ukraine was the first country to prosecute
environmental war crimes and ecocide "on a massive scale."
Ukraine is investigating more than 200 war crimes against the
environment and 15 incidents of ecocide, he said.
"We call for strengthening international efforts to
investigate and prosecute Russia's war crimes against the environment and to
ensure that the aggressor pays for the enormous damage caused by these
crimes," he tweeted.
Zelensky said the working group was "a very important
signal of supporting Ukraine," The Journal reported. "It's
really important, we need your professional help."
Our work is
licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and
share widely.
Olivia Rosane is a staff writer
for Common Dreams
"The master class
has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles.
The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject
class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their
lives." Eugene Victor Debs
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