Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, he has been conducting numerous field missions to assess the direct and indirect impacts of the fighting on ecosystems. These effects, which are varied and profound, are the result of both collateral damage from military operations and the deliberate use of the environment as an instrument of war. François Grünewald also discusses the influence of climate change on combat zones and the environmental challenges associated with the future reconstruction of the country. Given the scale of the destruction observed, he finally questions whether certain acts can be classified as environmental crimes constituting war crimes in the context of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.
‘Sur le front climatique’ (On the climate front) is a podcast from the Defence & Climate Observatory produced by IRIS on behalf of the DGRIS of the French Ministry of the Armed Forces. This interview was recorded at IRIS.