Not rockets and not tanks: how Israel and Ukraine defend themselves on the environmental front

War and climate no longer exist separately from security policy. For Ukraine, environmental security today is not a secondary “green” topic, but a direct element of national survival. The damage from hostilities is not only destroyed cities but also poisoned rivers, degraded soils, destroyed ecosystems, the consequences of which stretch for decades.

Environmental security is no longer a question of the future. It operates here and now — as a factor directly affecting the health of the population, food supply, and the resilience of the state.

What environmental security really means

It’s not about abstract norms and reports. Ecology is the air that cities breathe, the water in rivers and wells, the land that feeds the country. In wartime conditions, all this can instantly become a source of threats — due to fires, floods, chemical pollution, or infrastructure destruction.

This is why for Ukraine, ecology has become part of the defense contour: without a healthy environment, there is no resilient nation.

How war turned nature into a battlefield

Russia’s full-scale invasion has elevated environmental risks to a strategic level. Explosions, fires, landmines, the destruction of dams and industrial facilities have dramatically expanded the scale of pollution and made many areas uncontrollable.

This affects not only nature but also the health of military and civilians, food security, and the economy. Moreover, a significant part of the consequences is transboundary and affects neighboring countries.

International law and environmental war crimes

International humanitarian law has long prohibited methods of warfare that cause widespread, long-term, and serious harm to the environment. Additional Protocol I to the Geneva Conventions directly protects nature and objects with “dangerous forces” — dams, nuclear power plants, hydraulic structures.

These norms have become the legal basis for investigations of military environmental crimes related to Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Ukraine in the focus of the International Criminal Court

The International Criminal Court in The Hague has already included environmental crimes in the investigation of the situation in Ukraine. The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant is one of the key episodes: pollution of the Dnipro with heavy metals, death of marine fauna, damage estimated at more than 57 billion euros.

Ukrainian law enforcement agencies have registered hundreds of episodes of environmental war crimes, some of which are classified as ecocide. These cases form an international precedent: the destruction of nature ceases to be a “side effect” of war.

Why this is a threat not only to Ukraine

The environmental disaster does not stop at the border. Pollution of the Black Sea has already affected the shores of Romania and Turkey, toxic deposits are recorded in the Danube Delta, and contaminated products and water move through European food chains.

The Ukrainian case has become a pan-European security issue, not a local tragedy.

Israel: when ecology is integrated into security

Against this backdrop, Israel’s experience is particularly indicative — a country that has lived for decades in conditions of conflict and resource scarcity. In Israel, environmental security is integrated into the national strategy: climate is considered a threat multiplier, and environmental monitoring is an element of defense.

Satellite monitoring systems, sensor networks, mobile technologies, water innovations, and sustainable agriculture have turned ecology from a weak point into a strategic advantage.

This is why analytics on the platform НАновости — Новости Израиля | Nikk.Agency increasingly considers Ukraine and Israel in the same context — as countries for which ecology is directly linked to defense, diplomacy, and survival.

What Ukraine has already done — and where gaps remain

Ukraine has approved the Environmental Security and Climate Change Adaptation Strategy until 2030, as well as an operational plan for its implementation considering military risks. This is an important regulatory framework.

But the key challenge is practical implementation: modernization of monitoring, use of satellites and drones, collection of evidence for international courts, and citizen participation in damage recording.

Main conclusion

In the 21st century, war destroys not only buildings and infrastructure. It destroys the foundation of life — water, air, soil, and biodiversity. If environmental security is not integrated into defense and foreign policy, a country loses long before the end of hostilities.

For Ukraine, this lesson is obvious. Israel’s experience shows: even under constant threats, ecology can be turned from a vulnerability into a tool of resilience and survival.