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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 · 2022–2026

Munition residues and war damage in Ukrainian soils: measurements and state damage assessments

Nature's voice · report
Imagery identified 420,615 craters and 3,411 hectares of soils impacted by heavy military vehicles in my Kharkiv region, and 4,212 hectares of 'bombturbation', according to Bonchkovskyi et al. (2025).
Did nature suffer? Yes. Harm is on record. Disputed
Recorded
  • All sampled craters in my Kharkiv soils showed enrichment in heavy metals, predominantly 1.1-1.5 times the background value; helicopter-crash and fresh missile sites showed critical contamination, according to Bonchkovskyi et al. (2025). Science of the Total Environment, O. Bonchkovskyi et al.
  • At a Shahed-136 strike site on my agricultural land in Kirovohrad region, crater-bottom soils held lead exceeding 3% and cadmium reaching 0.1%, and plant growth was strongly suppressed in biotests, according to Kovrov et al. (2026). Sustainable Environment, O. Kovrov et al.
  • Screening of my frontline and urban soils in 2022-2025 found extreme spatial variability of TNT, RDX, HMX and ADNTs, with specific samples above human-health risk-based screening levels, according to Dziubii et al. (2026). Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, O. Dziubii et al.
  • FAO counted over 1.09 million craters in my fields and more than 10,000 hectares of damaged arable soil in four northern oblasts, to 1 April 2026. Interfax-Ukraine (citing FAO)
What the record lacks: 4 none on record · 1 not disclosed · 2 insufficient · 1 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps
Accounts of the harm differ
Extent of heavy-metal contamination at impact sites

Peer-reviewed studies of soils in Kharkiv and Kirovohrad oblasts and a screening of frontline and urban areas measured heavy metals and explosive residues at impact sites, and Ukraine's State Ecological Inspectorate assessed soil damage at almost UAH 20 billion for pollution and over UAH 1,169 billion for littering of land resources.

over UAH 1,169 billionState Ecological Inspectorate assessment of damage for littering of land resources, 24 February 2022 - 31 December 2024
A further almost UAH 20 billion was assessed for soil pollution, under Ministry of Environment Order No. 167 of 4 April 2022; cited by the Accounting Chamber.

Status As of August 2026: three peer-reviewed papers (January 2025 - August 2026) and FAO measurements reported contamination at impact sites; no court ruling and no remediation budget are on record.

What?
Peer-reviewed studies and FAO measured heavy metals and explosive residues in craters and impact sites in war-affected Ukrainian soils, and the State Ecological Inspectorate assessed soil damage in hryvnias. Science of the Total Environment, O. Bonchkovskyi et al.
Where?
Kharkiv oblast (north-east), Kirovohrad oblast (Shahed-136 strike site), frontline and urban areas (screening), four northern oblasts (Kyiv, Zhytomyr, Sumy and Chernihiv) for FAO. Science of the Total Environment, O. Bonchkovskyi et al.
When?
Sampling in 2022-2025; publications from January 2025 to August 2026; state assessment period 24 February 2022 - 31 December 2024. Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, O. Dziubii et al.
Who?
Gained
None on record
Lost
None on record
Harmed
  • Agricultural land in Kharkiv and Kirovohrad oblasts — Craters, heavy-metal enrichment and explosive residues; plant growth suppressed in biotests at the Shahed-136 site Sustainable Environment, O. Kovrov et al.
  • Arable soil in four northern oblasts — More than 10,000 hectares damaged and over 1.09 million craters in fields (FAO) Interfax-Ukraine (citing FAO)
Why?
None on record.
How?
Impacts of munitions, military vehicles and a drone strike; heavy metals and explosive compounds entering soil at craters and impact sites. Science of the Total Environment, O. Bonchkovskyi et al.
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Researchers from the NGO Ukrainian Researchers Society, the Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv and the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute (Bonchkovskyi and colleagues) used WorldView and GeoEye imagery to identify 420,615 craters and 3,411 hectares of soils impacted by heavy military vehicles in the Kharkiv region, and 4,212 hectares of soil 'bombturbation'. Their paper in Science of the Total Environment (first published 23 January 2025) reported that all sampled craters showed enrichment in heavy metals, especially cadmium, copper, lead and zinc, but that concentrations were predominantly only 1.1-1.5 times the background value and almost did not exceed Ukrainian threshold limit values; helicopter-crash sites and fresh missile sites showed critical contamination with heavy metals. The paper stated that the environmental effect of landmines and unexploded ordnance remained unclear in Ukraine.

Kovrov and colleagues (Dnipro University of Technology, Lutsk National Technical University and the Czech Academy of Sciences) studied soil on agricultural land hit by a Shahed-136 drone in Kirovohrad (Kirovograd) region. Their paper in Sustainable Environment (18 January 2026) reported X-ray fluorescence readings in crater-bottom soils of lead exceeding 3%, cadmium reaching 0.1% and detectable thallium, bismuth, palladium and iridium, elevated chlorine and bromine in lateral soils consistent with explosive residues, and strong growth suppression in plant biotests with Lepidium sativum and Brassica napus.

Dziubii, Semerád, Chrzanowski and Cajthaml (Charles University, the Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences and Poznań University of Technology) published a review and preliminary screening in the Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances (August 2026). Soil screening from frontline and urban areas of Ukraine in 2022-2025 revealed extreme spatial variability of TNT, RDX, HMX and aminodinitrotoluenes (ADNTs), with specific samples exceeding human-health risk-based screening levels; transformation products remained largely unmonitored.

FAO, as reported by Interfax-Ukraine on 9 April 2026, counted more than 10,000 hectares of damaged arable soil and over 1.09 million craters in fields in four northern oblasts, from analysis of 1.13 million cultivated plots; the soil study was to extend to seven regions. In a joint statement hosted by CEOBS on 29 April 2024, HALO Trust initial crater soil sampling in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv fields and FAO soil sampling on land cleared by FSD were mentioned, and no results were published.

The State Ecological Inspectorate assessed damage between 24 February 2022 and 31 December 2024 at almost UAH 20 billion for soil pollution and over UAH 1,169 billion for littering of land resources, calculated under Ministry of Environment Order No. 167 of 4 April 2022; the Accounting Chamber's key facts give UAH 1,189.6 billion of losses from littering and pollution of soils.

  1. 2022Sampling period begins; Ministry of Environment Order No. 167 on the damage calculation methodology (4 Apr)
  2. 2024CEOBS-hosted joint statement (29 Apr): no results published from HALO Trust crater sampling or FAO sampling on cleared land; State Ecological Inspectorate assessment period ends (31 Dec)
  3. 2025Bonchkovskyi et al. published in Science of the Total Environment (23 Jan); Accounting Chamber audit cites the Inspectorate's assessments (26 Aug)
  4. 2026Kovrov et al. on a Shahed-136 strike site (18 Jan); FAO reports on damaged soil in four northern oblasts (9 Apr); Dziubii et al. review (Aug)

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

“all sampled craters showed enrichment in heavy metals, especially cadmium, copper, lead and zinc. However, their concentration is predominantly only 1.1-1.5 times more than background value and almost does not exceed threshold limit values in Ukraine”

“Pb exceeding 3%, Cd reaching 0.1% and detectable Tl, Bi, Pd, and Ir”

“revealed extreme spatial variability of TNT, RDX, HMX, and ADNTs, with specific samples exceeding human-health risk-based screening levels”

“Such data helps us understand which areas require priority attention.”

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

Extent of heavy-metal contamination at impact sites
Researchers
Bonchkovskyi et al. (Kharkiv region, 2025)

All sampled craters were enriched in heavy metals, predominantly 1.1-1.5 times background and almost never above Ukrainian threshold limit values; helicopter-crash and fresh missile sites showed critical contamination.

Science of the Total Environment, O. Bonchkovskyi et al.
Researchers
Kovrov et al. (Kirovohrad region, 2026)

Crater-bottom soils at a Shahed-136 strike site held lead exceeding 3% and cadmium reaching 0.1%.

Sustainable Environment, O. Kovrov et al.
Researchers
Dziubii et al. (2026)

Explosive residues showed extreme spatial variability, with specific samples exceeding human-health risk-based screening levels.

Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances, O. Dziubii et al.

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

  • Damage to soil assessed at almost UAH 20 billion for pollution and over UAH 1,169 billion for littering of land resources
    State Ecological Inspectorate of Ukraine, as cited by the Accounting Chamber · Accounting Chamber of Ukraine

Recorded

Who gained

Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

Reached nature or the ground

Not published
State Ecological Inspectorate assessment, soil pollution estimate20bn
Calculated under Ministry of Environment Order No. 167 of 4 April 2022.
State Ecological Inspectorate assessment, littering of land resources estimate1169bn
The Accounting Chamber's key facts give UAH 1,189.6 billion of losses from littering and pollution of soils.

Gained elsewhere

Not totalled
Currency: UAH · Window: 24 Feb 2022 - 31 Dec 2024. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

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.

Craters, Kharkiv region
420,615
Satellite imagery; 3,411 ha of soils impacted by heavy military vehicles (Bonchkovskyi et al., 2025)
Heavy metals in sampled craters
1.1-1.5 times background
Predominantly; cadmium, copper, lead and zinc; helicopter-crash and fresh missile sites critical
Damaged arable soil, four northern oblasts
More than 10,000 ha
FAO, to 1 April 2026; over 1.09 million craters in fields
Damage to soil assessed by the State
Over UAH 1,169 billion
Littering of land resources, 2022-2024

What we don't know

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

Nature

  • Disputed Extent of heavy-metal contamination at impact sites

Court

Record

  • None on record None on record: a court ruling on soil contamination by munitions in Ukraine.
  • None on record None on record: a remediation budget for munition-contaminated agricultural soils.
  • Not disclosed Not disclosed: results of HALO Trust crater soil sampling in Kharkiv and Mykolaiv fields and of FAO soil sampling on land cleared by FSD; the CEOBS-hosted joint statement of 29 April 2024 records that none had been published.
  • Insufficient Insufficient: the environmental effect of landmines and unexploded ordnance remained unclear in Ukraine (Bonchkovskyi et al., 2025).
  • Insufficient Insufficient: transformation products of military explosives remained largely unmonitored and mixture toxicity was not very well described (Dziubii et al., 2026).
  • Unclear Unclear: whether Ukraine's draft national mine action standard on environment and mine action, awaiting formal adoption in April 2024, has been adopted.
  • None on record None on record: insurance cover or payment for munition-contaminated soils.

Did the harm stop?

None on record.

Who paid?

None on record: remediation funding. The State Ecological Inspectorate's figures are assessments of damage.

Sources

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

Government and regulators

Press and investigations

Communities and civil society

  1. Joint statement: Mine action and food security
    CEOBS (hosting joint statement) · 2024-04-29

Researchers

  1. War-induced soil disturbances in north-eastern Ukraine (Kharkiv region)
    Science of the Total Environment, O. Bonchkovskyi et al. · 2025-01-23

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.
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