Shredded trees, dead dolphins and wildfires — how Russia's invasion is hurting nature

ZHYTOMYR, Ukraine — When the fighter jet crashed into these northwestern Ukrainian woods, killing its 27-year-old pilot, splintering trees and spewing fuel, it tore a gash in the forest canopy. Then it exploded. The wildfire that followed charred trees and earth, threatening two nearby villages.

Two months later, fire extinguished, the area still smells like jet fuel. Debris litters the ground. A jagged piece of metal, painted Ukrainian blue and yellow, rests between green shoots of grass growing through blackened leaves. Another shard juts from a tree some 20-feet above the ground.

"It's a catastrophe," says Viktor Radushinskiy, a member of the state forestry department.

One of many.

The State Environmental Inspectorate of Ukraine, a government agency, has documented more than 300 cases of what it calls "environmental crimes," carried out by Russia since its invasion began in late February. The actual number is believed to be closer to 1,500, it says, but many sites are still occupied by Russia