THE ECOLOGICAL AND HUMANITARIAN CATASTROPHE BEGAN ON DONBASS

Abstract

The conduct of bilateral military operations in the zone of the antiterrorist operation (ATO), involving heavy weapons and active military actions, raises an obvious question about the security of the civilian population. The problems of the population's vulnerability in relation to secondary damage factors, their impact on the life and health of the population of the region, caused by the destruction of potentially dangerous objects, critical infrastructure objects, various pollution caused by the destruction of warehouses and storage facilities for radioactive and toxic substances and wastes, oil products, explosives, highly effective poisonous substances, transport and engineering communications, and the like. According to the UN, the war in the east of Ukraine “touched” 4.4 million people. 3.4 million of them need help, 2.3 million are in a particularly disadvantaged situation.