Having started the war against Ukraine, russia is harming the environment in all directions, and marine territories are no exception. Since the beginning of the military invasion, there have been recorded cases of negative environmental impacts in the Black Sea region. Russian military is shelling civilian ships, shooting down planes, firing off the coastal areas of Ukrainian settlements from its ships, and has mined the Black Sea from the Bosphorus to Odessa.
By doing so, russia is violating the provisions of the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution, which it ratified in 1993 and has committed itself to complying with all its provisions. Therefore, EPL appealed to the Commission on the Protection of the Black Sea Against Pollution to initiate an extraordinary Meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Black Sea Commission to discuss the dangers caused by actions of the russian federation, and asked to suspend the right of the Commission member from russian federation to participate in the discussion of the impact of hostilities on the Black Sea ecosystems, as well as to terminate any projects, programs, various types of cooperation benefitting russian governmental and non-governmental organizations.
