In Moscow, they talked about methods of combating hogweed

The problem of the spread of the dangerous Sosnovsky hogweed still remains urgent in the territory of New Moscow. To combat it, city services have deployed space monitoring and video surveillance systems. This was announced on June 14 by the head of the Moscow Department of Nature Management and Environmental Protection, Yulia Urozhdaeva.

"We have learned how to identify hogweed through objective monitoring — through satellite images, through a number of video cameras. And we identify these places, fix the localization and remove the hogweed. If we take the borders of old Moscow, then these are already isolated locations, but if we take new Moscow, then the problem persists in some locations," she told RIA Novosti.

It is noted that the capital has made significant progress in the use of chemical methods to eliminate this harmful plant. According to the head of the department, the metropolitan authorities are intensively working to destroy invasive plants that displace the indigenous urban ecosystem.

"He's not an easy opponent either, but I think we can handle it," she added.

Dangerous weed is illegal: the land plot will no longer be taken away because of the hogweed

Hogweed is no longer considered a sign of land abandonment

On June 2, in the Dmitrov district of the Moscow region, an eight-year-old schoolgirl stepped on a hogweed thrown under her feet and was hospitalized with an eye burn. It is noted that the victim was running around the site with a freshly mown hogweed and stepped on the remains of plants.

In July last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved a law that obliges land owners to combat Sosnovsky hogweed and other invasive (alien) plants. The new obligations entered into force on March 1, 2026.