Both Directly and Indirectly, Putin’s War in Ukraine Means Ever More Russians are Breathing Unhealthy Air

Paul Goble

            Staunton, June 1 1 – Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian defense sites have sparked fires that have increased the number of Russians who are forced to breathe unhealthy air, but the war has boosted that number in other ways not only by delaying clean up projects but also by boosting production at defense plants, among the dirtiest Russian industries.

            That is the conclusion of the Kedr portal (kedr.media/research/atmosfera-voennogo-vremeni/) which helps to explain why more than half of Russians now live in places with unhealthy air (nemoskva.net/2026/06/12/rospotrebnadzor-samye-gryaznye-regiony-rossii-ehkologiya-voda/).

            The war is hardly the most serious cause for most of this problem. Russian industry has long been allowed to contaminate the air with relative impunity, and Russians tragically have long been accustomed to dirty air and dirty water and the serious impact these have on their  health.

            But Putin’s war in Ukraine has made the situation worse in three ways. First, and most obvious, Ukrainian drone attacks have sparked fires which have contaminated air and water in an increasing number of places, a development that has attracted enormous attention in Russia despite the Putin regime’s efforts to restrict coverage.

            Second, since the start of Putin’s expanded war in Ukraine, the Russian government has delayed the implementation of its 2019 environmental law first from 2024 to 2026 and now to 2030, arguing that the new situation the country finds itself in makes it impossible for Moscow to keep the schedule it announced earlier.

            And third, to support the war, Russia has ramped up production at defense industries which include some of the most environmentally harmful centers of production in the Russian economy. As a result, even though there has been some progress in reducing contamination elsewhere, the total number of people affected by unhealthy air has skyrocketed.

            In this investigation, Kedr did not talk about the impact of this on healthcare costs and lost production as a result of illness; but it is certainly large and will take a long time, enormous spending, and a real commitment to reduce atmospheric contamination. Otherwise, ever more Russians and those living in neighboring countries as well will continue to suffer.