Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / War and military activity · Ukraine · 2022

Fuel-depot fires at Kalynivka, Kriachky and Lutsk, 2022

Nature's voice · report
Near the Kalynivka depot my soil held 16,500 mg/kg of oil products in April 2022, against a standard of 1,000 mg/kg and a background of 270 mg/kg at 500 m.
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record.
Recorded
  • In July 2022 the Riznytsia pond held 12.3 mg/dm³ of oil products, against a standard of 0.1–0.3 mg/dm³. CEOBS and Zoï Environment Network (supported by UNEP)
  • At Kriachky 41,830 tonnes of pollutants entered my air and about 9,000 m² of my land was contaminated, with petroleum products at 17 times the maximum permissible concentration, according to the State Environmental Inspectorate. LB.ua
  • At Lutsk four city air stations detected no excess of pollutants associated with burning oil, according to CEOBS. CEOBS
What the record lacks: 3 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

Fires at three Ukrainian fuel depots in February and March 2022 were measured by CEOBS, Zoï and UNEP and valued by the State Environmental Inspectorate; for the Kriachky depot the Inspectorate calculated damage of UAH 930 million.

UAH 930 millionEnvironmental damage calculated by the State Environmental Inspectorate, Kriachky depot
Air UAH 888.383 million plus land UAH 41.981 million, published 24 June 2022.

Status As of June 2022: the Inspectorate had published damage of UAH 930 million for Kriachky; no payments or proceedings are on record.

What?
Fires at fuel depots in Kriachky (Kyiv Oblast), Kalynivka (Kyiv Oblast) and Lutsk burned fuel and released pollutants to air, soil and water; the State Environmental Inspectorate calculated damage of UAH 930 million for Kriachky. LB.ua
Where?
KLO depot, Kalynivka (about 30 km south-west of central Kyiv); depot in Kriachky village, Fastiv district, Kyiv Oblast; WOG depot, Lutsk. CEOBS and Zoï Environment Network (supported by UNEP)
When?
27 February 2022 (Kriachky); 24 March 2022 (Kalynivka); 27 March 2022 (Lutsk); damage totals published 9 March and 24 June 2022. LB.ua
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
Why?
Strikes on the depots; CEOBS and Zoï give a Kalibr cruise missile at Kalynivka. The intended target of the Lutsk strike is not stated in the sources cited. CEOBS and Zoï Environment Network (supported by UNEP)
How?
Fuel tanks burned for hours to a week; the Inspectorate calculated damage per site from air, land and soil data. LB.ua
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

The fire at the depot in Kriachky village, Fastiv district, Kyiv Oblast (which LB.ua also links to the BRSM depot near Vasylkiv) began after a strike on 27 February 2022 and burned for “a full week”. The State Environmental Inspectorate's Capital District calculated damage to air of UAH 888.383 million and to land of UAH 41.981 million, a total of UAH 930 million. It counted 41,830 tonnes of pollutants released to air (41,694 t CO₂, 76 t CO, 17 t NO₂ and 6 t zinc oxide) and about 9,000 m² of land contaminated, with petroleum products at 17 times the maximum permissible concentration (LB.ua, 24 June 2022).

At Kalynivka, the KLO depot about 30 km south-west of central Kyiv was struck shortly before 18:00 on 24 March 2022 by a Kalibr cruise missile, according to CEOBS and the Zoï Environment Network (supported by UNEP, November 2022). Twelve petrol tanks, ten diesel tanks, nine tanker trucks and four semi-trailers burned, likely more than 10,000 tonnes of fuel and about 30,000 t CO₂e. CEOBS, citing samples of the State Agency for Water Resources and the Inspectorate, gave oil products at 12.3 mg/dm³ in the Riznytsia pond in July 2022 against a standard of 0.1–0.3 mg/dm³, and soil next to the depot at 16,500 mg/kg in April 2022 against a 1,000 mg/kg standard, with a background of 270 mg/kg at 500 m. PM2.5 peaks were recorded at the Khlepcha station 6 km away, and the plume was visible up to 35 km. CEOBS wrote that “No direct plume measurements were made”.

At Lutsk, the WOG depot on the city's outskirts was hit at 22:00 on 27 March 2022; two 500-tonne tanks were destroyed and the fire was extinguished 32 hours after it started. CEOBS wrote that the depot “was not protected by air defences”. Four city air stations detected no excess of pollutants associated with burning oil; CEOBS notes possible PFAS from firefighting foam, and that some sources speculated on an “economic war” motive or a military-fuel target.

On 9 March 2022 the Inspectorate had reported (via Interfax-Ukraine) that damage had been calculated for 5 cases, with soil-contamination damage of about USD 77 million, that a draft method for war-related air-pollution damage had been developed and that an operational headquarters had worked since 1 March 2022. No payments received are on record.

  1. 2022Kriachky/Vasylkiv depot fire begins and burns about a week (from 27 Feb); Inspectorate's first damage totals (9 Mar); Kalynivka struck shortly before 18:00 (24 Mar); Lutsk depot hit at 22:00 (27 Mar); Kriachky damage published (24 Jun); Riznytsia pond sampled (July)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“No direct plume measurements were made”

“was not protected by air defences”

CEOBS, on the Lutsk depot · 2022 · CEOBS

“a full week”

State Environmental Inspectorate, Capital District, as reported by LB.ua, on how long the Kriachky depot burned · 24 June 2022 · translated from Ukrainian · LB.ua

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Oil depot burned by Russians in Kyiv region caused almost a billion hryvnias in environmental damage – State Environmental Inspectorate (headline)
    LB.ua, 24 June 2022 · LB.ua

Recorded

  • Kalynivka: CEOBS and Zoï (supported by UNEP) give a Kalibr cruise missile strike on the KLO depot; 12 petrol tanks, 10 diesel tanks, 9 tanker trucks and 4 semi-trailers burned; likely more than 10,000 tonnes of fuel and about 30,000 t CO₂e.
    CEOBS and Zoï Environment Network (supported by UNEP)
  • Lutsk: two 500-tonne tanks destroyed; fire extinguished after 32 hours; four city air stations detected no excess of pollutants associated with burning oil.
    CEOBS
  • Kriachky: damage to air UAH 888.383 million, to land UAH 41.981 million, total UAH 930 million (Inspectorate, Capital District).
    LB.ua
  • The Inspectorate reported on 9 March 2022 that damage had been calculated for 5 cases and that soil-contamination damage was about USD 77 million.
    Interfax-Ukraine

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

—
Kriachky depot: damage to air (Inspectorate, Capital District)888m
Kriachky depot: damage to land (Inspectorate, Capital District)42m
Soil-contamination damage across 5 cases (Inspectorate, 9 March 2022)—
About USD 77 million as the Inspectorate stated it; not converted.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Reached the ground
—
Currency: UAH · Window: 2022. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

Responses on record

  • State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine (9 March 2022): Calculated damage in hryvnias and dollars per site and in aggregate; operational headquarters working since 1 March 2022. · Interfax-Ukraine

In court and with insurers

Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

Lawsuits and rulings

No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

Insurers

No insurer decision on record.

What nature saw

Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

Kriachky: damage calculated
UAH 930m
State Environmental Inspectorate, June 2022
Kriachky: pollutants to air
41,830 t
Mostly CO₂ (41,694 t)
Kalynivka: soil next to depot
16,500 mg/kg
April 2022, against a 1,000 mg/kg standard
Kalynivka: Riznytsia pond
12.3 mg/dm³
Oil products, July 2022, against 0.1–0.3

What we don't know

Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
No court case

Money

  • None on record Soil-contamination damage across 5 cases (Inspectorate, 9 March 2022) — About USD 77 million as the Inspectorate stated it; not converted.

Court

Record

  • Not measured Not measured: Direct plume measurements at Kalynivka and Lutsk (CEOBS).
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: Inspectorate damage totals for all fuel depots hit in 2022.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: Lutsk air data are from four city stations only; possible PFAS from firefighting foam is raised by CEOBS without measurement.
  • None on record None on record: Payments received for the damage figures, or legal proceedings specific to these depots.
  • Unclear Unclear: The motive for the strike on the Lutsk depot; CEOBS notes that some sources speculated on an “economic war” motive or a military-fuel target.

Did the harm stop?

The Kriachky fire burned for a week from 27 February 2022 and the Lutsk fire was extinguished after 32 hours.

Who paid?

None on record.

Sources

Voices on record: — Company or project✓ Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations✓ Communities and civil society— Researchers

Government and regulators

Communities and civil society

  1. Ukraine conflict environmental briefing: Fossil fuel infrastructure
    CEOBS and Zoï Environment Network (supported by UNEP) · 2022-11-15

Connected cases

Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
Terms used on this page

Science and environment

Hectare (ha)
A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.
PFOA (C8) and PFAS
PFAS are a large family of human-made chemicals that persist in the environment and the body; PFOA, also called C8, is one of them and was used to make Teflon.
Similar cases
War and military activity · Oil, gas and coal operations · Oil spill · Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, fires · Libya · 2014–2026
Oil-facility fires and leaks in Libya's conflict: Es Sider, Ras Lanuf, Zawiya
Same type: War and military activity, Oil, gas and coal operations, Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, fires
War and military activity · Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, fires · Ukraine · 2022–2026
War-related greenhouse-gas emissions and Ukraine’s planned climate damage claim
Same type: War and military activity, Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, firesSame country
War and military activity · Wildfire · Protected area / relocation · Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, fires · Ukraine · 2022–2025
Wildfires in Ukraine's war zone and on the Kinburn Spit, 2022–2025
Same type: War and military activity, Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, firesSame country
War and military activity · Protected area / relocation · Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, fires · Ukraine · 2022–2024
Sviati Hory National Nature Park, Donetsk Oblast, 2022–
Same type: War and military activity, Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, firesSame country
War and military activity · Protected area / relocation · Wildfire · Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, fires · Ukraine · 2022–2026
Chornobyl Exclusion Zone: Russian occupation of 2022 and fires, 2022–2026
Same type: War and military activity, Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, firesSame country
Oil, gas and coal operations · Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, fires · Netherlands · 2019–2023
RWE sought €1.4bn from the Netherlands over its coal phase-out
Same type: Oil, gas and coal operations, Burning: incineration, open burning, flaring, firesSame region