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More than half of Russia’s population is living under harmful environmental conditions, according to a new assessment by Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service, citing Russia’s official 2025 sanitary and epidemiological report, UATV English reports.
The report, published by Russia’s consumer protection watchdog Rospotrebnadzor, shows that 83.8 million people—57% of the country’s population—are exposed to chemical pollution that poses health risks.
Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service said the document “reads less like routine bureaucracy and more like a diagnosis of a country that is systematically poisoning its own population.”
According to the report, overall chemical exposure affecting public health increased by 5.9% over the past year. Air pollution remains most severe in the republic of Khakassia, Altai Krai, and Krasnoyarsk Krai, while contamination near residential areas and major highways continues to worsen.
The report also points to growing pollution of drinking water sources. More than 28% of water samples failed sanitary chemical standards, with the worst conditions recorded in Kurgan and Novgorod regions.
Marine pollution has also deteriorated sharply. The share of seawater samples exceeding chemical safety standards rose to nearly 13%, while oil contamination increased more than tenfold. According to the report, 150 beaches remain covered with fuel oil, primarily in the Krasnodar region, with pollution affecting coastal waters, fish stocks, and nearby drinking water sources.
The report further highlights increasing food safety concerns. Counterfeit food products now account for 5.9% of the market, while more than half of bacterial strains identified in food samples were found to be resistant to antibiotics. Poultry and eggs were identified as the main source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, with Salmonella showing particularly high resistance to commonly used antibiotics.
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