War is always environmental damage. Currently, the amount of damage caused to the environment as a result of the Russian invasion is estimated at $57 billion.
However, for this war, the topic of ecology became not only a way of conducting hostilities (for example, the blowing up of the Kakhovka Dam), but also a topic of speculation enemy propaganda, and fake news.
The Ukrainian Review analyzed the “environmental” fakes from the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
One of the most common fakes of Russian propaganda are reports about various biological laboratories. Russia even accused Ukraine of creating them at UN meetings.
During the speech of the representative of the Russian Federation, Vasily Nebenzya, at the UN meeting in connection with the consideration of Russia’s complaints under Article VI of the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons, the Russian Federation accused Ukraine of using unmanned aerial vehicles (including the famous UAV Bayraktar) to distribute containers with infected mosquitoes: it seems that such a drone transports a container with a large number of mosquitoes carrying infections to a given area and releases them.
Central Russian mass media claimed that Kyiv was collecting the DNA of military personnel to create biological weapons against the Slavic peoples.
In January 2023, the Russians spread the news that Ukraine had caused an “ecological disaster” by lowering the water level in the Dnipro to freeze the river faster. As a result, many fish died. Ukraine was also blamed for the ammonia leak.
So, let’s analyze these fakes in more detail.
Biological weapons and numerous Russian fakes
The UN representatives did not find any evidence of the existence or even the development of such weapons in Ukraine.
Moreover, US Ambassador to UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield called the briefing of the UN Security Council initiated by Russia regarding the development of biological weapons in Ukraine “a colossal waste of time.”
In 2005, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine signed an agreement on cooperation with the United States under the Biological Threat Reduction Program. According to this program, Ukrainian laboratories are working on identifying and reducing the threat of dangerous pathogens. Russia presents this information as the development of biological weapons.
“These fakes have no evidence. Ukraine is a member of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Biological Weapons. This convention prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, and use of biological weapons. The purpose of Russian propaganda is to justify its invasion of Ukraine. Russia is trying to present Ukraine as a country that poses a threat to international security”, — Dmytro Franchuk, political analyst.
In theses about the production of biological weapons using the DNA of Ukrainian servicemen, there is also a distortion of other available information. On July 9, 2022, Ukraine adopted the law “On state registration of human genomic information”. According to the law, during the period of martial law, military personnel, policemen, members of the rank and file of the State Emergency Service, as well as members of voluntary formations of territorial communities must submit their DNA data. DNA samples are stored in an electronic register and can be taken only if necessary, to carry out an examination for identification in the event of death.
In addition, some charitable foundations of Western countries and France, the United States have handed over to Ukraine mobile DNA laboratories, which carry out genetic examinations for the identification of the dead.
All these are measures to speed up the process of identification of the deceased but by no means for the development of biological weapons.
Ammonia leak
One of the Russian fakes was the dissemination of information about an ammonia leak with a threat to people’s lives.
“The occupiers hit the ammonia pipeline in the Donetsk region [6 June 2023 — ed.]. More precisely, they damaged the distribution station. They began to disperse that a cloud was coming, and there would be mass poisoning of the population. There was just wind on Sloviansk (there was a widespread information attack on it, Russians spread panic in home chats, one of the most frequent ways of spreading PSYOP). However, “EkoCity” air quality monitoring stations were installed in the “Drukarnia” civil society cell in Sloviansk. There are ammonia sensors. The sensors recorded a small value relative to the background value, but it was 10% of the permissible value limit. In other words, people didn’t even smell it,” — comments Maksym Soroka, an expert on environmental safety, “Dovkola” network.
Freezing of rivers and lowering of the water level in the Dnipro river
“Ukrainian authorities did not interfere in the natural process of freezing of the Dnipro. This process is natural – the river freezes every winter, regardless of whether the Ukrainian authorities lower the water level or not – and does not harm the fish”, — Dmytro Franchuk.
The drop in the water level in the Dnipro is associated with Russian shelling, which damaged the shut-off valves at the Kakhovska HPP. This was announced by the Department of Environmental Protection of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration.
Maksym Bronzyuk, chief specialist of the Department of Ichthyology of the State Fisheries Agency of the Zaporizhia region, said that ecologists have recorded a significant loss of aquatic biological resources and violation of wintering conditions for fish as a result.
Maksym Soroka also commented on the topic of lowering water in Ukrainian reservoirs:
“This is a delusion. There are two facts. If we look at the reports of the regional water resources administrations, which deal with and take care of reservoirs, at the reports of Ukrhydroenergo, we will see that they are, on the contrary, raising the water level due to the fact that the Kakhovskaya HPP was destroyed. Since June, we have had a constant gradual rise in water. For example, the Kaniv reservoir was raised by half a meter in four months. Although we have a hydrological drought (little precipitation). That is, there is no basis here.”
Soroka’s also noted that the Russians are spreading information about the lowering of the water level not only in the Dnipro River:
“This is PSYOP, and I will explain why and where it came from. There is a Molochna river in the Kherson region. It is one of the largest rivers in the Zaporizhzhia region. Since the spring, there have been reports that the occupiers want to turn it around in order to direct it into the channel of the Kakhovsky Reservoir. And there are reports that they have started preparatory construction work for this. If this happens, then in a large area of Zaporizhzhya region, partly in Kherson region due to the fact that these waters will be diverted, water may disappear in small rivers. Therefore, it is quite possible that this is the preparation of the information space for what they want to do with the Molochna River.”
Russians want to sow fear among Ukrainians with fakes — Vlad Zinkevich
“In the context of environmental crimes, such fakes also aim to sow fear among the population of other countries. Ecology is one of the most important social and security topics in the West, so it is very convenient for Russian propaganda. And if this sown fear, according to Russian fakes, because of Ukraine, this is the hostile narrative that needs to be fought.
For example, the situation with Kakhovskaya HPP. The Russians staged a terrorist attack. Ukraine was blamed. Then they focused not on the true cause, but on the environmental consequences for the world. Of course, the source of danger is Ukraine. After that – the Russian thesis that the war needs to be ended as soon as possible.
That is, this is another hostile narrative that should force the West to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table with Russia at this stage of the war. They understand that they have fewer and fewer chances in the future, so it is important for Russia to record gains on the front as of now.
Yes, the war really needs to be ended. But only by the victory of Ukraine. By negotiating with Russia, Ukraine will lose its sovereignty and other democratic countries will also be under threat. The world should understand this, and Russia, thanks to such fakes, is leveling it.
A favorite topic for Russian manipulation is nuclear war. Russia, as a nuclear power, sees the threat of nuclear war precisely through Ukraine. It’s a paradox, but propaganda manages to convince the Western audience of this,” — comments Vlad Zinkevich, editor-in-chief of the morning broadcast of the First Channel of Public Broadcasting of Ukraine.
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Not having significant successes on the battlefield, Russia resorts to manipulations, and every time it tries out “pain” points that can be picked on and discredit Ukraine in the eyes of its partners.
Anya Ostymchuk
