Poroshenko Says Russia Is Ruining the Environment By Supporting Separatists in Ukraine

By The Moscow Times

Dec. 1, 2015

Russian President Vladimir Putin delivers a speech for the opening day of the World Climate Change Conference 2015 (COP21) at Le Bourget, near Paris, France, Nov. 30, 2015. Kremlin Press Service

Russia is causing an “environmental disaster” by supporting separatists in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko told a climate summit in Paris on Monday, AFP reported.

Poroshenko said pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region had poisoned drinking water and soil by flooding mines, the report said.

?€?My country has become a victim of hybrid warfare, which has many hybrid effects,?€? he was cited as saying in the report. ?€?One of them is a risk of environmental disaster.?€?

Poroshenko also said shells and artillery had ?€?heavily polluted?€? the ground and atmosphere, describing money for reconstruction in the Donbass region as "an investment in combating climate change."

The climate summit kicked off in Paris on Sunday and negotiations will continue to run until Dec. 11.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday told the Paris summit that Russia was ?€?taking active steps toward solving global warming.?€?

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