A fire lasted for almost a week, destroying the entire protected area of the nature park on the occupied Dzharylgach island in the Kherson region.
This was reported by the director of the Dzharylgach National Nature Park Iryna Sabashenko in a comment to the "Novyny Pryazovya" ["Pyazovya News"] project.
The fire destroyed almost 16 kilometers of the island. It arose precisely because the occupiers set up a training ground there. Because of this, most likely, the vegetation caught fire and burned almost the entire protected area. The main part of all valuable species of steppe ecosystems, rare species that are included in the "Green Book of Ukraine" are concentrated there, and the fate of the animals is currently unknown. As of today, August 16, there is no more smoke.
According to Sabashenko, it will take 10 to 30 years to restore the vegetation cover. As the mayor of Skadovsk Oleksandr Yakovlev told "Novyny Pryazovya", there is no information on whether the occupiers left Dzharylgach island after such a large-scale fire. However, they have closed access to this area for the residents of the region.