The Promo-LEX Association has filed a complaint with the General Prosecutor’s Office, requesting the initiation of criminal proceedings for water pollution and ecocide in the case of the Dniester. The action targets the massive contamination of the river with petroleum substances, following the attack on the Nistrean Hydroelectric Complex in Novodnistrovsk, Ukraine, reports IPN.

The complaint calls for the urgent preservation of evidence, including laboratory results and monitoring data, as well as the performance of environmental, hydrological, toxicological, and chemical forensic examinations. Promo-LEX also requests the initiation of international judicial cooperation with Ukrainian authorities and the assessment of ecological and material damage.

The missile and drone attack on the Nistrean Hydroelectric Complex, on the night of March 6 to 7, would have led to the spillage of technical oils and other petroleum substances into the Nistru. From March 10, pollution spots were detected on the territory of the Republic of Moldova, and the Environmental Agency’s analyses confirmed the exceeding of maximum permissible concentrations.

As a result, the authorities have halted the supply of drinking water in several localities, including Soroca and Balti. The government has declared an environmental alert on the Dniester river basin for 15 days and has requested the activation of the European Union’s Civil Protection Mechanism.