Dynamic Monitoring of Ecological Quality in Eastern Ukraine Amidst the Russia‐Ukraine Conflict

Abstract

To evaluate the spatiotemporal changes in the ecological environment of eastern Ukraine since the Russia-Ukraine conflict, this study used MODIS images from March to September 2020 and 2022 to calculate the Remote Sensing???Based Ecological Index. In 2022, compared with 2020, conflict zones exhibited reduced improvement and increased slight degradation, whereas nonconflict areas showed marginal enhancement. Through propensity score matching, the research confirmed the causal relationship between conflict and ecological trends. Pathway analysis revealed that the conflict contributed to 0.016 units increase in ecological quality while reducing the improvement rate by 0.042 units. This study provides empirical support for understanding the correlation between conflicts and specific environmental factors, offering technical references for ecological quality assessments in other conflict areas and future evaluations by the Ukrainian government.