Over 600,000 craters recorded in farmlands of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions

The scale of the ecological disaster caused by the fighting in southern Ukraine is becoming increasingly clear. According to the latest data collected in the deoccupied territories of Mykolaiv and Kherson regions, over 600,000 craters have been recorded in farmlands formed as a result of explosions of shells, rockets and other munitions. This indicates deep soil degradation, which poses a serious threat to the future agricultural potential of these regions.

The data collection was carried out as part of a large-scale study that combined high-precision satellite imaging, ground observations and laboratory analysis of soil samples. The project was initiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in support of the efforts of the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Agrarian Policy of Ukraine to demine and ecologically clean up agricultural lands. Funding was provided by the governments of Canada, Norway, and Switzerland.

The study surveyed 980,440 hectares in the Mykolaiv region, excluding the 40-kilometer frontline strip. In this area, scientists found more than 306,000 explosion craters with a diameter of half a meter to 50 meters. As a result, more than 612,000 cubic meters of soil were displaced. The study also found more than 2,334 hectares that had suffered direct explosion damage, and another 6,000 hectares were compacted by heavy equipment tracks. Up to 18,800 hectares may be contaminated with heavy metals or other toxic substances - 138 soil samples were taken for this.

In the Kherson region, the study covered the liberated right-bank part - in particular, the Berislavsky and Kherson districts. Even more intense damage to the land was recorded here: 311.7 thousand craters with a diameter of up to 22.4 meters were found on 263,860 hectares. Explosions displaced 1.6 million cubic meters of soil — three times more than in the Mykolaiv region. Another 3.4 thousand hectares were directly damaged, and 7.3 thousand hectares were damaged by compaction by machinery. The probable contamination covers almost 27 thousand hectares, from which 90 soil samples were taken for chemical analysis.

In June of this year, the Society of Researchers of Ukraine will present a monetary assessment of the damage caused to agriculture in the two affected regions. These calculations will take into account not only direct damage to the land, but also long-term loss of fertility and the need for large-scale cleaning of the territories.

The information collected is already critically important for the formation of plans for the restoration of agricultural production. It will also help international partners better assess Ukraine's needs for humanitarian demining and ecological rehabilitation, without which a return to full-fledged management of these lands is impossible.