Russia’s invasion could cause long-term harm to Ukraine’s prized soil

Physical and chemical damage to farmland could linger for years

a team working to destroy an unexploded missile. Two people stand around a small post in a dug-up portion of field, with a blue vehicle in the distance

A team works to destroy an unexploded missile in a field near Hryhorivka, Ukraine. War damage done to the country’s fertile soil could affect agriculture for years.

DIMITAR DILKOFF/AFP via Getty Images

By now, wheat planted late last year waves in fields across Ukraine. Spring crops of sunflowers and barley are turning swaths of dark earth into a fuzz of bright green.

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