As part of the Nature for Veterans programme, Rewilding Ukraine, in cooperation with the Izmail State Administration, organised another rehabilitation trip to the Danube Delta from 27–29 May for a war veteran and families of Ukrainian defenders, including relatives of fallen service members.
The Tarutyno Steppe is one of the key protected areas in the Odesa region and an integral part of the rewilding Danube Delta, covering more than 5,000 hectares.
A new film by award-winning French videographer Emmanuel Rondeau will premiere online on World Rewilding Day 2026. “The Danube Delta and the Healing Power of Nature” tells the story of how rewilding is helping one of Europe’s most remarkable landscapes recover, while offering hope and renewal to Ukrainian people living through the impacts of war.
In the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta, rewilding efforts have reconnected the life-giving waters of the River Danube with Lake Kartal. The lake’s rapid comeback — and the growing benefits this is delivering to nature and local communities — shows how powerful wetland restoration can be.
2025 became a year of deepened cooperation with local communities for the Rewilding Ukraine team, a year of scaling up conservation actions and taking new steps toward the restoration of wildlife in the Ukrainian part of the Danube Delta and the adjacent steppe areas. Despite challenging security conditions, we continued working to ensure that nature can recover and that people and wildlife can coexist in harmony.
We invite you to join an important online seminar dedicated to the future of Ukraine’s natural heritage
In cooperation with the Kyiv Zoo, the Rewilding Ukraine team released a saker falcon (Falco cherrug) into the wild. The event took place within the Tarutyno steppe in Odesa Region – an area that represents an important stronghold for the rewilding of steppe ecosystems.
The night sky over the Danube once again resonates with the call of Europe’s largest owl – the Eurasian eagle owl (Bubo bubo). Four young birds – two males and two females – have embarked on their first journey into the wild as part of Rewilding Ukraine’s ongoing programme to restore this iconic species in the Danube Delta.
On 7 November 2025, an online seminar titled “The Emerald Network in Ukraine: Developing Management Plans and Assessing Military and Anthropogenic Impacts” brought together representatives of government institutions, academia, civil society organizations, international partners, and experts from the Eastern Partnership countries.
Across the world, grasslands play a vital role absorbing and locking up carbon in their vegetation and soils. Recent research from the Tarutino Steppe in Ukraine shows how rewilding can revitalise grasslands, improving soil fertility and enhancing their carbon storage potential.