Te once verdant forests of Donbas have suffered considerable damage, both from the second world war and from extensive felling in the last century. Only 5.9 per cent of the region remains forested. Te re- gion lies in the steppes, the treeless grassy plains characteristic of much of south-eastern Europe. Nowadays it is impossible to find large areas of virgin steppe, as most have been turned into farmland. But the region still retains unique treasures such as the Homutovskaya steppe, which has remained unchanged enough to give some idea of how the region looked in the distant past.

Te Homutovskaya reserve offers a final glimpse of what has been lost. It is all that remains of the once vast wilderness of southern Ukraine,

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home to ancient tribes such as the Scythians, Sarmatians, Pechenegs, Polovtsians and many others of whom there is now little trace. Today the reserve totals 1,030 hectares, 90 of them in strictly protected areas that have never been ploughed and on which for 70 years no cattle have grazed. Even mowing was forbidden. For some sorts of wildlife Homu- tovskaya is the last refuge. It shelters 604 plant species (19 of them en- demic) as well as 59 kinds of moss, 46 lichens and more than 270 mush- room species.

Te Donbas region, in common with most other places on Earth, faces a range of ecological challenges whose long-term effect is hard to predict, but which could radically change people’s lives.