What is the environmental impact of the war in Ukraine?

Experts fear the long-term consequences of Russia’s invasion for forests, farmland, soil and marine life, write Jeff Stein and Michael Birnbaum

An aerial photograph taken in December shows oil storage tanks that were hit by a Russian missile strike in Kryvyi Rih (Photo for The Washington Post by Heidi Levine)

Gregoriy Sidorenko watched in disbelief as the Russian cruise missile slammed into storage tank number four at the oil depot, sending enormous plumes of black smoke overhead and sparking a massive fire that would last roughly 16 hours.

More than 1 million gallons of oil from eight incinerated tanks seeped into the soil, raising concerns about potential contamination at a nearby drinking water reservoir in this industrial city about 200 miles south of Kyiv. Sidorenko, a shift supervisor at the depot, says his family accuses him of reeking of diesel when he returns home.

Since the war began more than a year ago, tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have been killed or wounded on the battlefield while the country’s civilians have contended with a near-constant bombardment by missiles and drones. But the Russian invasion has created a lower-profile killer as well – one that could haunt Ukrainians for years, if not decades, scientists say. The war has scarred Ukraine’s natural environment – polluting its rivers and lakes, contaminating its soil, eviscerating its forests – a circumstance that experts fear could lead to a long-term increase in cancers and other illnesses among civilians.