Ukraine war and ecocide
Sir, - Sadhbh O’Neill’s recent powerful and thought-provoking Opinion Piece, (“‘Ecocide’ is one of the hidden costs of war” Opinion, October 21st) skillfully exposes an overlooked consequence of war, connecting environmental destruction to human conflict.
The war in Ukraine, and indeed Gaza, has highlighted the dire need to formally recognise ‘ecocide’ as a crime under the International Criminal Court (ICC). The Ukrainian government has taken a courageous step in advocating for this initiative, citing the invasion via the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone as the first act of ‘ecocide’ in this reckless war.
The catastrophic Chernobyl nuclear disaster of 1986 left an indelible mark on history, yet in February 2022, the world watched in horror as Russian troops recklessly advanced through the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, reawakening deeply buried radioactive elements and contaminating the air, land and water.
Never before in the history of the atomic age have nuclear facilities been used as weapons of war. They have, until now, remained globally off limits because of their lethal potential to destroy the planet.
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