Issues of the Military Brownfields in Ukraine: A Sustainable Development Perspective

The turbulent history of Ukraine, particularly its post-Soviet legacy and geopolitical changes, along with the ongoing war with Russia since 2014, which escalated into full-scale dimensions from 2022, has left an imprint on its landscape in the form of abandoned former military facilities scattered throughout Ukraine. The intensity of hostilities since 2014 and their spatial scale since 2022 have led to the emergence of numerous new military centers in practice. Some of these centers are directly linked to urban, industrial, and natural areas that have been damaged. A new challenge and open question arise: how to manage the recovery of Ukraine’s territories after achieving victory and restoring territorial integrity. The purpose of this article is to identify the challenges posed by the war in Ukraine and explore the potential of repurposing military brownfields to contribute to the social, economic, and environmental reconstruction (development) of Ukraine in the post-war period. The paper elucidates the definition of military brownfields and clarifies the essence of post-military and post-war brownfields. Consequences of war, military operations and attacks on frontline and rear cities and terror of the civilian population are outlined. Taking into account the principles of the concept of sustainable development, the possibilities of reusing military brownfields in Ukraine were considered.