Determination of the amount of damage caused to the land and soils of Ukraine by military actions: calculation methods and current issues

Abstract

The purpose of the publication is to review the documents of the regulatory framework of Ukraine that address the issues of determining the damage caused to soils and land as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation, and to highlight the topical issues of theoretical, methodological and practical nature related to the determination of such damage. The article considers military soil degradation as a set of degradation processes that develop in soils as a result of military actions. Together with other types of degradation, military degradation worsens the current ecological state of soils and soil cover of the state. The article discusses in detail the methods of determining the amount of damage caused to soils and lands (Order No. 197) and the land fund (Order No. 295) as a result of the armed aggression of the russian federation. Order No. 197 assesses the damage caused to soils and land plots as a result of soil contamination with substances that adversely affect their fertility and other useful properties, and contamination of land plots with foreign objects, materials, waste and other substances. Order No. 295 assesses the costs of reclamation of disturbed land, damages incurred by owners (land users) of agricultural land plots, and the costs of restoring reclamation systems. Determining the damage caused to the soils and lands of Ukraine as a result of military actions is a complex issue that goes beyond the developed methods of calculating the amount of damage. The article considers topical issues of large-scale soil surveys, soil grading, soil monitoring, training of specialists in the field of soil science, land management, and nature management in the context of modern challenges caused by the impact of military operations on the soil and land fund of the state, the importance of resolving above mentioned issues for establishing and determining the amount of damage caused to soils and lands as a result of military operations, and developing recommendations for their reclamation and post-war restoration.