The war in Ukraine continues to exact a deadly toll, not only on the 43 million citizens of the country and the millions around the world affected by its consequences but also on nature. As dolphin deaths mount in the Black Sea, Kyiv has accused Moscow of ecocide — the destruction of a natural environment by deliberate or negligent actions. Ukraine wants international law, which recognises genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and aggression, to also include ecocide as a punishable offence during conflict. The country’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, first made the allegation against Russia after the Kakhovka dam collapse in June flooded nature reserves, villages and farmland, killing more than 100 people. While it is for jurists to argue whether Russia is guilty of mass crimes against the environment in Ukraine, Mr Zelensky and his team are right in highlighting an often-ignored victim of brutal wars: nature. As climate change wreaks havoc in more and more parts of the world, it will be increasingly tempting for nations to use water, soil and other natural resources as weapons of war.

For centuries, warring armies have created man-made floods — by collapsing dykes or opening dams — to target enemies. But ecocide as a concept gained traction only after the United States of America carpet-bombed Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos in the 1960s and 1970s, deliberately destroying forests and farms that people depended upon. Chemical weapons dumped on the three countries have polluted the water and soil for decades since and unexploded bombs continue to detonate and kill people even today. The former Swedish prime minister, Olof Palme, openly accused the US of ecocide. There are similar instances from more recent wars. Two Washington-led conflicts in Iraq have left that country littered with depleted uranium and chemical weapon remains, including white phosphorous, which the US used in Fallujah. More recently, the explosion of the Nord Stream gas pipelines has left the Baltic Sea polluted with chemical weapon agents. As extreme weather events increase in frequency, combatant nations will have the power to amplify the destruction they can cause to enemies and the environment. In 1998, the US, the United Kingdom and France opposed the inclusion of ecocide in the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court. The past 25 years have shown that an amendment is necessary. Eco-wars are a reality that humankind must prepare for.