In July 2023, I crossed into Ukraine on a night train from Poland. As usual, my evening was spent talking to other passengers. I did not mention my interest in environmental questions, preferring to listen to people's stories, when suddenly my compartment neighbour, who was not an environmentalist, started talking about the sandy blind mole-rat.

The sandy blind mole-rat (Spalax arenarius) is an endangered species endemic to the Lower Dnipro region of southern Ukraine. The area has been occupied by Russia since February 2022, and, on 6 June 2023, the region's Kakhovka Hydroelectric reservoir and dam collapsed, resulting in widespread flooding and destruction. Ukraine's military and Nato blame Russia, and experts suggest the damage could be either a deliberate or an unintended consequence of the Russian occupation.

It is impossible at present to assess the full impacts of the disaster since the area remains under Russian occupation. Yet the event, which demolished houses and affected internationally significant nature sites, has been proclaimed in Ukraine as the biggest environmental catastrophe since the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explosion in 1986. An estimated 18 cubic km (4.3 cubic miles) of reservoir water burst through, washing pollutants and sewage products downstream to the Black Sea, and displacing landmines. The loss of water for agricultural irrigation also hit global food security and biodiversity loss has been significant.

Amid this destruction, the population of the endemic sandy blind mole-rat is thought to have fallen by 50%. For my fellow train passengers, the animal was seen as yet another victim of Russian aggression.

How nature became part of Ukraine's resistance