Mortar firing range instead of park: Ukraine's Defence Intelligence reveals how Russians are destroying Ukrainian nature reserves

What Happened

Ukraine's Defence Intelligence (DIU) stated that Russian forces have established a mortar firing range inside Pryazovia National Nature Park in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and destroyed bird nesting sites in Meotyda National Nature Park in Donetsk Oblast. DIU said these actions have caused billions of dollars in environmental damage and bear the hallmarks of war crimes. Data from the State Environmental Inspectorate of the Southern District indicate damage to protected natural areas in Kherson Oblast alone was estimated at more than UAH 1.2 trillion (approximately US$28 billion) as of October 2026, according to DIU. The agency reported that dozens of Ukrainian protected areas are in active combat zones or under Russian occupation, including Askania-Nova Biosphere Reserve in Kherson Oblast, Meotyda National Nature Park in Donetsk Oblast, Pryazovia National Nature Park in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Kinburn Spit in Mykolaiv Oblast, Sviati Hory National Nature Park in Donetsk Oblast and Kreminski Forests National Nature Park in Luhansk Oblast. DIU said the war and occupation are destroying soil, causing fires, contaminating land with fuel, and damaging habitats through mine-laying, trench-digging and movement of heavy military equipment. It added that Russian military vehicles compact soil, damage plant root systems and disrupt natural drainage; fuel, lubricants and ammunition remnants pose chemical risks; and fires destroy vegetation, breeding grounds and food sources. DIU also said Russian forces have turned the Kamiani Mohyly nature reserve near Mariupol into a military training ground and damaged the protected environment of Dzharylhach Island. It described Russian-created bodies in occupied Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson oblasts as sham environmental protection institutions aimed at strengthening occupation control over protected land and natural resources.

Key Actors

Why It Matters

The report extends the documented environmental toll of Russia's invasion beyond immediate combat destruction to protected ecosystems and globally significant habitats. By framing damage as ecocide and noting war-crime indicators, Ukrainian intelligence is laying groundwork for future legal accountability and highlighting occupation control over natural resources. The scale of the Kherson estimate—more than UAH 1.2 trillion—underscores both the economic and ecological costs of Russian control.

Watch For

Watch for further DIU or Ukrainian prosecutor documentation of environmental damage and possible ecocide case filings; international judicial bodies assessing environmental destruction as a war crime; and satellite imagery or post-occupation inspections of the named reserves—Pryazovia, Meotyda, Askania-Nova, Kinburn Spit, Sviati Hory and Kreminski Forests—to verify damage claims. No specific date was given, but Ukrainian authorities may submit additional evidence to the International Criminal Court or other tribunals.