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Wildfires caused by hostilities in 2024 destroyed more forest areas in Ukraine than “regular” wildfires in the rest of Europe.
As reported by Ukrinform, this is stated in a report by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, published today on the EU institution’s website.
“The report shows that 2024 was a record-breaking year for wildfires in Ukraine. Satellite images reveal that approximately 1 million hectares (965,000 ha) burned in the country in 2024—more than twice the area destroyed by fires in the entire European Union over the same period. The distribution of fire outbreaks coincides with the frontline in the war between Ukraine and Russia, highlighting the damage to Ukrainian forests caused by the criminal Russian invasion,” the document states.
According to the study, the damage to Ukrainian forests was even worse last year than in previous years since the full-scale Russian invasion began in February 2022.
The highest number of wildfires was recorded in eastern Ukraine near the frontline.
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Throughout 2024, 8,753 wildfire outbreaks were detected in Ukraine, affecting a total area of 965,360 hectares—equivalent to all wildfire-affected regions in the rest of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa recorded in 2023.
As previously reported, the environmental damage caused by Russian occupiers in Luhansk Oblast alone has amounted to nearly 618 billion hryvnias since the start of the full-scale aggression.
