“Pravova derzhava”. Issue 37 (2026), pages 583–592.
DOI: 10.33663/0869-2491-2026-37-583-592
Turlova Yulia
Encroachments on Environmental Human Rights in Ukraine under Wartime Conditions as a Criminological Phenomenon
ISSN online: 2617-9776 print: 0869-2491
Extended Abstract. The article examines the phenomenon of encroachments on environmental rights in Ukraine under conditions of the ongoing international armed conflict and identifies the key criminological factors that determine their emergence and persistence. Emphasis is placed on the systemic deterioration of environmental safety, exacerbated both by chronic structural problems and by the unprecedented environmental damage caused by war, including large-scale destruction of ecosystems, contamination of soil and water resources, and risks associated with attacks on critical nuclear infrastructure. These processes directly affect the constitutional right to a safe environment, as well as related rights such as access to environmental information and compensation for environmental harm.
The study analyses the dual nature of wartime environmental offences: ordinary environmental crimes that persist despite wartime constraints, and war-related environmental crimes, including ecocidal acts and breaches of radiological safety, which pose transboundary risks for ecological security. Particular attention is given to the legal and criminological assessment of high-impact incidents such as the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant and attacks on nuclear facilities, which reveal significant gaps in both international and national mechanisms for the protection of environmental rights.
The article substantiates the need for strengthening legal, institutional, and procedural instruments aimed at the effective protection of environmental rights in wartime. This includes improving criminal and administrative remedies, enhancing the capacity of environmental and law-enforcement institutions, and developing comprehensive mechanisms for documenting, investigating, and prosecuting war-related environmental offences. Ensuring the realisation of environmental rights under such exceptional conditions requires an integrated approach that aligns national policy with evolving international standards and recognises environmental rights as an integral component of human rights protection architecture.
Keywords: environmental human rights; ecocide; war environmental crimes; environment; criminological phenomenon; determinants of crime; international legal responsibility; destruction of ecosystems; environmental protection.
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Дата першого надходження рукопису до видання: 22.12.2025
Дата прийнятого до друку рукопису після рецензування: 03.03.2026
Дата публікації: 24.03.2026