Forensic Expertise in Determining Damage to Plant Life Caused During Armed Conflicts: Legal Brief on the Case of the Russian-Ukrainian War

This article explores the types of forensic expertise used for assessing environmental damage, particularly to plant life, and in the context of armed conflicts. This study considers documented ecological damages from the Russian-Ukrainian war and Ukraine’s practical experience following the combat activities of the Russian Federation in assessing damage to plant life. The research was based on forensic doctrines related to crime trace collection, aimed at better understanding the current mechanisms used for documenting environmental damage caused by armed conflicts, as well as exploring general forensic theory, which analyses types of forensic processes used to determine environmental damage resulting from warfare. The study analysed statistical data provided by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office concerning environmental war crimes from 2022 to 2024, quantitative indicators of environmental damages from governmental audit reports, and included a mathematical calculation of ecological damages caused by a specific event in September 2024 - following the debris fall of a shot-down Kh-59/69 missile in Kyiv region (Ukraine). Findings from the forensic assessment of environmental harm derived from armed conflicts are accepted by international courts as evidence of war-related environmental crimes. The mathematical calculation proposed in this article for determining the magnitude of environmental damage can be employed by specialists developing methodologies for conducting relevant forensic expertise. The study empirically substantiates the potential of forensic methods for quantifying environmental damage caused to ecosystems and plant life as a result of military operations.