https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/ukraine-russia-war-green-environment-b2033770.html

 

'They're destroying not only people and infrastructure, they also destroy nature,' says Yevgenia Zasiadko, head of the climate department at an environmental protection group in Kyiv

 

Maksym Borodin has spent much of the past decade battling for an improved quality of life in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol. Today, his city is fighting for its very survival.

Situated on the Azov Sea, before the war Mariupol was known in Ukraine for its heavy industry and heavily polluted skies. But in recent years a burgeoning movement of local activists and politicians has been attempting to transform its reputation, working hard to make it a greener place to live.

That progress now looks set to be lost amid the rubble of this city of more than 400,000 people, as Russian forces besiege it and satellite images show utter devastation.

The actions of the Kremlin were subject to international condemnation after an airstrike hit a maternity hospital in the city, reportedly killing at least three people including a child. Residents trapped inside the city say they have run out of water and fuel.

Before the Russian invasion, Borodin, an activist turned politician, was among those who felt that, however slowly, progress was being made on environmental and climate issues in Ukraine.