This study investigates the impact of armed conflict on agricultural land use in Ukraine, focusing on the growing phenomenon of cropland abandonment in frontline and adjacent regions. The research addresses the urgent need for accurate and scalable methods to detect and monitor abandoned agricultural areas resulting from war-induced disruptions. To achieve this, the study employs satellite-based remote sensing techniques using data from Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2. Vegetation dynamics were analyzed through time series of vegetation indices, specifically the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index and the Radar Vegetation Index. Imagery was processed in Google Earth Engine, and visual classification was applied to distinguish between cultivated and non-agricultural vegetation. Seasonal thresholds were used to identify deviations from typical crop growth cycles, enabling the detection of land parcels no longer under active agricultural use. Results reveal a substantial expansion of abandoned cropland between 2022 and 2024, particularly in areas directly affected by military operations. Temporal analysis of vegetation indices demonstrated clear patterns of disruption in agricultural activity, with reduced biomass and absence of harvest signals. The study confirms that remote sensing is an effective tool for assessing land degradation and abandonment at scale. The proposed approach supports decision-making in land recovery planning and food security strategies, and provide a transferable framework for rapid response to emerging land use challenges in conflict-affected regions.
BBC News Ukraine (2024). Russia has claimed to have captured Robotyne. URL: https://www.bbc.com/ukrainian/articles/c51n1xp0r9lo
Becker-Reshef I., Mitkish M. (2024). When Farmland Becomes the Front Line, Satellite Data and Analysis Can Fight Hunger. Issues in Science and Technology 40, no. 2, 32–36. DOI: https://doi.org/10.58875/PTNA5543
Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine (2022). Resolution No. 326: On approval of the procedure for determining damage and losses caused to Ukraine as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/326-2022-%D0%BF
FAO (2016). FAOSTAT, Methods & Standards, URL: https://www.fao.org/ag/agn/nutrition/Indicatorsfiles/Agriculture.pdf
He, T., Zhang, M., Xiao, W., Zhai, G., Wang, Y., Guo, A., & Wu, C. (2023). Quantitative Analysis of Abandonment and Grain Production Loss under Armed Conflict in Ukraine. J. Clean. Prod., 412, 137367. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2023.137367
Ibatullin, Sh., Dorosh, Y., Sakal, O., Krupin, V., Kharytonenko, R., Bratinova, M. (2024). Agricultural Land Market in Ukraine: Challenges of Trade Liberalization and Future Land Policy Reforms. Land, 13(3), 338. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/land13030338
Kupriianchyk, I., Kolisnyk, H., Kharytonenko, R., Melnyk, D., Bratinova, M. (2023). Classification of restrictions on the use of lands affected by military actions. International Conference of Young Professionals «GeoTerrace-2023» (1), 1-5. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.2023510095
Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine (2022). Methodology for determining damage and losses caused to forest resources as a result of the armed aggression of the Russian Federation. URL: https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z1308-22#Text
Sadeh, Y., Wagner, J., Nair, S.S. et al. (2025). National-Scale In-Season Field Boundaries of Ukraine Using Remote Sensing. Sci Data, 12, 833. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05190-7
Solokha, M., Konshyn, R., Dehtiarov, V. (2024). Identifiers of the impact of military operations on soil cover based on satellite data. DOI: https://doi.org/10.32782/2226-0099.2024.137.29
Xu, N. Zhuang H., Chen Y., Wu S., Liu R. (2025). Mapping Multi-Crop Cropland Abandonment in Conflict-Affected Ukraine Based on MODIS Time Series Analysis. Land, 14(8), 1548; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/land14081548