As of September 10, 2023, there have been 9,614 civilian deaths reported in Ukraine since Russia’s latest invasion began on February 24, 2022. And in Gaza, the latest numbers of civilian casualties in just over a month are estimated to be over 13,000. These scenes of unfathomable death and destruction have displaced millions, breaking apart families and disjointing entire communities; ripples that will have lasting effects for years to come.

But there is also a quieter victim of these wars. The land, the water, the plants, animals and fungi that call those places home. I have been thinking a lot about how these conflicts are impacting the ecosystems within them and I wanted to talk to somebody about it.

And that’s how I found Oleksiy.   

As a Ukrainian scientist, Oleksiy knows better than most, how these wars shape and change not only people, but amphibians, insects and birds. I asked Oleksiy about his life and work before the war, the idyllic lands he once explored, and also life after, the bombing, the militarization of the world around him and an ongoing race to save invaluable data sets before they’re lost forever. He’s smart, he’s candid, and he has a lot to say.

Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group

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