Search

The article is devoted to the formulation of the concept of «environmental risk associated with military operations», and to the identification of its key features based on the analysis of the developments of legal science and related fields, provisions of national legislation and practice of its application. Given that our country has faced an unprecedented event - a full-scale war, which in turn has led to the emergence of new environmental risks associated with military operations, and these risks are of a completely different nature than the environmental risks studied in so-called «peacetime», there is a need to expand and modernize the legal conceptual and categorical apparatus, in particular, through the introduction of the concept of «environmental risk associated with military operations». This is the reason for the relevance of this scientific article. The article analyzes the doctrinal and regulatory approaches to the definition of the concept of «risk». Scientific sources on the interpretation of the concept of «environmental risk» are studied. The author also analyzes the content of the category of «military actions». The author's definition of environmental risk associated with military actions is formulated as «a quantitative measure of environmental hazard which reflects the possibility of negative consequences for both components of the biosphere and for humans, their life and health and is caused by the organized use of branches and individual branches of troops (forces) of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, other military formations formed in accordance with the laws of Ukraine, as well as the armed forces and other military formations of the enemy in operations and hostilities». It is established that the environmental risks associated with military operations are not characterized by anthropocentric focus and substitutionality. It is substantiated that the signs of environmental risks associated with military operations are monovariation of forms of origin (military actions are always carried out at the will of a person, and, accordingly, the negative consequences for the environment/biosphere/human are exclusively of anthropogenic origin); limited possibility of absolute determination (the current state of technology and available experience do not allow to accurately determine the level of environmental threats caused by military actions); cumulative nature (environmental risks associated with military actions may cause other environmental risks and lead to a multiplicity of negative consequences). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]