Occupying officials acknowledged that hostilities are harming the island of Dzharylhach, which has been under Russian occupation since February 2022.
As Viktor Dorofeyev, a representative of the occupation administration of the “Dzharylhach” park, told Russian-controlled media, the explosions “always disturb and will continue to disturb,” since animals and birds are frightened and leave their nesting sites.
According to him, in addition, hostilities lead to chemical contamination of soils due to residues of gunpowder.
He also admitted that access for ecologists to the island’s territory is limited due to the Russian military presence, and the situation has to be assessed only with the help of drones.
Dzharylhach is the largest island by area off the Black Sea coast of the Kherson region, bordered by the Karkinit and Dzharylhach bays. It is considered uninhabited and has had protected status as part of the nature conservation fund since the 1920s.
In spring 2023, Russian occupiers filled the crossing between the island and the Kherson mainland with sand and set up a military training ground on it.
In August that year Dzharylhach was engulfed by a large-scale fire. The fire destroyed 1,500 hectares of the protected area. The most valuable steppe section of the national park burned for almost a week.