The purpose of the article is to define a complex of organizational and legal tools of the legal mechanism for the formation of reliable data on the facts of the destruction of the natural environment of Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation (RF), which can serve as a basis for bringing the aggressor state to international legal responsibility for compensation for environmental damage caused to Ukraine.

A number of international legal documents are analyzed, which are sources of international humanitarian law and multilateral environmental protection agreements, which give Ukraine a reason to count on bringing the Russian Federation as an aggressor state to international legal responsibility and paying reparations for the destruction of the environment as a result of the Russian-Ukrainian war.

From the point of view of the formation of the evidence base, it was emphasized that it is important to compare the data of the monitoring of the environment and certain natural resources that existed before the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine and from the moment of the infliction of environmental damage as a result of armed aggression, proving the cause-and-effect relationship between the facts of the occurrence and environmental damage.

 It has been established that, in accordance with the UN Charter, the Ukrainian army opposes unprovoked armed aggression by the Russian Federation and uses force exclusively for the purpose of defense, protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine, therefore sanctions of international legal responsibility for causing damage to the environment as a result of the military actions of the Armed Forces should not be applied to our state.

The institutional component of the legal mechanism for determining and recording the damage caused to the environment of Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation is outlined: the State Environmental Inspection of Ukraine and its Operational Headquarters, the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the Specialized Environmental Prosecutor’s Office of the State Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine, which comprehensively ensure the implementation of state environmental control, implementation constant monitoring of the environment and its natural components, collection of the evidence base and proper recording of the facts of environmental damage. The idea of the need to improve the methodology for determining damage to the natural environment by implementing the concept of ecosystem services was supported.

There have been analyzed the normative legal acts of Ukraine, which are the basis for calculating environmental damages and losses from the Russia’s armed aggression. It emphasized the importance of involving foreign experts and activating other forms of international cooperation for assessing and verifying the extent of damage caused to Ukraine’s environment during the war, as well as post-blast monitoring.

Bibliography

Authored books

1. Hrynchak V, Dyplomatychni zasoby myrnoho vrehuliuvannia mizhnarodnykh superechnostei (mizhnarodno-pravovi aspekty) (LNU imeni Ivana Franka 2012) (in Ukrainian).

2. Medvedieva M, Teoretychni ta praktychni aspekty realizatsii mizhnarodno-pravovykh norm u haluzi okhorony navkolyshnoho seredovyshcha (Feniks 2012) (in Ukrainian).

3. Kopylov M, Yuridichieskaia otvetstvennost za ekolohicheskiie priestuplieniia (RUDN 2004) (in Russian).

Edited books

4. Kravchenko O (zah red), Voienni dii na skhodi Ukrainy – tsyvilizatsiini vyklyky liudstvu (EPL 2015) (in Ukrainian).

Journal articles

5. Keiver M. ‘The Pacific salmon war: The defense of necessity revisited’ (1998) 21 Dalhousie Law Journal 408–28 (in English).

6. Rosokhata D, ‘Rol orhaniv ekolohichnoho kontroliu u fiksatsii voiennykh zlochyniv proty dovkillia na terytorii Ukrainy (2022) 74 Visnyk Lvivskoho universytetu. Seriia yurydychna 139–46 (in Ukrainian).

 Websites

7. Rosiiski okupanty zruinuvaly polovynu Irpinia: yak tekhnolohii dopomahaiut otsinyty zbytky <https://forbes.ua/inside/rosiyski-okupanti-zruynuvali-polovinuirpenyayak-tekh no logii-dopomogli-otsiniti-zbitki-u-922-mln-08072022-7062> (accessed: 10.07.2022) (in Ukrainian).