Industrial dumps poison river, soil and people in occupied Luhansk

It has been documented that in the area of the bridge near the Textile Factory, the water has taken on an unnatural color, its surface is covered with a chemical film, and suspended particles are visible in the water column. Analysts noted that this is not a one-off accident, but a regular discharge of industrial effluents from a number of enterprises that continue to operate in the Russian-occupied territory.

Any environmental oversight is effectively absent. The Kremlin puppet administration in Luhansk conducts only performative “clean-ups” for reporting purposes ahead of inspections, but the level of pollution only increases. There are no real inspections or investigations to identify the sources of contamination.

Experts at the National Resistance Center believe these are toxic petrochemical or mixed effluents that are harming the water, soil, birds and other species, and also pose a danger to human health. The consequences of these discharges may be long-term and irreversible, and the overall impact on the region’s ecosystem — devastating.

The Center stressed that this situation is systemic: the occupation authorities have for years failed to restrict the activities of “loyal” enterprises, effectively turning rivers into open industrial drains. There is no effective environmental supervision, and enterprises continue to pollute the environment with impunity across all occupied parts of Luhansk Oblast.