14.10.2025 DNIPRO/PRAGUE – Czech NGO Arnika, with financial support from the Czech Development Agency, is launching next phase of mapping and remediation of environmental contamination in the Dnipropetrovsk region in cooperation with Ukrainian partners. The region is continuously burdened by pollution from heavy industry and since the start of Russian aggression by war. The international research will focus on forty additional high-risk sites and will help both residents avoid danger and authorities in planning post-war reconstruction.
The Dnipropetrovsk region is one of the areas heavily affected by war while simultaneously among the regions with the highest concentration of heavy industry and mining in the Ukraine. Armed conflict is deepening existing environmental problems – new contamination caused by bombardment of industrial facilities and infrastructure failures is being added to historic environmental burdens. Arnika has now focused on addressing these problems together with the DEKONTA corporation and local partners.
"In 2024, we created the foundation of a contaminated sites database in cooperation with Arnika, which covered forty locations including an illegal pesticide dump. In 2025 and 2026 we will continue to expand and update this database. This will help us determine what risks threaten people living near these sites and plan their subsequent remediation," says Olexiy Angurets, the head of the Ukrainian organization Security and Recovery Centre.
In addition to creating a database of contaminated sites, Arnika and its partners will also collect samples from selected locations and prepare technical documentation
for remediation of the two most severely affected sites. Czech and Ukrainian experts will simultaneously prepare proposals for updating the regional environmental strategy.
The goal is to provide Ukrainian authorities and civil society organizations with materials that will enable them to effectively address environmental contamination issues.
The Czech Republic has extensive experience in solving similar problems, including those caused by the presence of Soviet troops.
"Our primary goal is to protect the health of residents who are exposed to environmental contamination by toxic substances. At the same time, in preparing Ukraine's post-war reconstruction, it will be crucial not to forget the environment and sustainability principles. Our work will help uphold these principles in the area of contaminated site remediation," says Marcela Černochová, Arnika's coordinator in Ukraine.
The Dnipropetrovsk region is a priority region of Czech development cooperation, and the Czech Republic has long supported environmental restoration projects here. Czech companies and expertise in environmental remediation may thus play a significant role in the region's post-war reconstruction in the future.
The project was supported by the Czech Development Agency as a part of Czech Foreign Development Cooperation. Implementation takes place in 2025–2026.
Media contacts:
Marcela Černochová (Arnika. Czech Rep.) – Project Coordinator, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +420 775 748 653 (WhatsApp, Telegram)
Olexiy Angurets (Security and Recovery Centre; Ukraine) – Head of the organization, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., +380 (67) 561 73 64 (Telegram)
Notes:
(1) Arnika (Czech Republic) is a non-governmental non-profit organization founded in 2001 whose mission is to protect nature and a healthy environment for future generations. It has been active in Ukraine since 2017, implementing projects focused on environmental protection as part of the Clean Air for Ukraine program.
(2) Security and Recovery Centre (formerly Zelenyi Svit - Friends of the Earth) is a non-governmental, non-profit organization that was registered in 1997 in Dnipro, Ukraine, and was the first in the region to focus on sustainable development. It works on green technologies, renewable energy, and economic development.
(3)Arnika collaborates on the project "Environmental Burdens in the Dnipropetrovsk Region" with Ukrainian partners, including Dnipropetrovsk Regional Council, Dnipropetrovsk Regional Administration, State Emergency Service of Ukraine in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Security and Recovery Centre, and Dnipro Environmental Monitoring Centre.
(4) More information about Arnika's activities in Ukraine: www.arnika.org/en/countries/ukraine, cleanair.org.ua/en/
