Environmental Justice after War: Environmental Weaponisation, Gender, and Transformative Remedies in Ukraine

This article examines environmental harm caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine as both a method and a consequence of warfare, and analyses its implications for accountability, gender justice, and post-conflict remedies. It argues that attacks on ecosystems and life-sustaining infrastructure can weaken civilian resilience and, where purposefully exploited, may amount to environmental weaponisation. Through the concept of double vulnerability, the article shows how ecological destruction interacts with gendered and intersectional inequalities, shaping exposure to displacement, resource insecurity, livelihood loss, unpaid care burdens and barriers to recovery. Drawing on doctrinal legal analysis, feminist scholarship and Ukraine-specific practice, the article identifies gaps in international humanitarian law and evaluates the potential of jus post bellum, transformative reparations and rights-based mechanisms to address ecological and social harm together. It then examines emerging remedial practices and recovery strategies in Ukraine, concluding that their transformative potential depends on recognising cumulative and non-material harms, ensuring meaningful participation, and embedding gender equality and human rights in implementation.