DETECTION OF SURFACE SOIL DISTURBANCE AREAS AS A RESULT OF MILITARY ACTIONS IN UKRAINE BY REMOTE SENSING METHODS

Abstract

The special regime of nature reserve complexes allows for the protection and reproduction of local flora and fauna, local Red Data Book species, and the implementation of preventive measures against their extinction from the region. Military operations on the territory of these complexes have an irreversible impact on the further development of the region's natural complexes. The authors of the publication have studied the territory of one of the protected areas affected by military actions in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions of Ukraine. The research was organized in the period from February 2022 to February 2023. The publication presents the results of research on the use of remote sensing data to determine the zone of disturbance of the surface soil layer as a result of military operations. As a result, more than 2,100 hectares of destroyed surface soil layer as a result of military operations were identified. The presented results of the study allow for ongoing monitoring, which will contribute to a qualitative analysis of the impact of hostilities and prove the facts of fires, the presence of enemy military equipment, the construction of various fortifications (trenches, trenches, shelters for equipment), the presence of firing positions, the location and movement of automobiles and other large vehicles, as well as surface and submerged watercraft. The data obtained is necessary to assess the damage that the Russian army has caused and continues to cause as a result of a full-scale war on the territory of Ukraine.