Askania-Nova (Ukrainian: Асканія-Нова) is a biosphere reserve located in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, within the dry Taurida steppe near Oleshky Sands.

Her refusal resulted in her summary execution by two Red Army guardsmen who shot her for failing to surrender her estate in Khorly (today a port in Kherson Oblast).

Shortly thereafter, photographs showing Russian soldiers alongside hunted deer carcasses from the park were posted on social media.

Askania-Nova's Ukrainian administration continues to operate in absentia, with international donations contributing towards assisting former employees forced to leave the institution.

[citation needed] In August 2024, the governor of Kherson Oblast, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that the reserve had ceased to "exist" due to looting by Russian forces, the transfer of its wildlife to Crimea and Russia, and flooding caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam.

Larger animals on the reserve include the common eland, an African antelope being studied at the facility for its milk production (as a possible alternative to dairy), Ankole cattle, Cape buffalo, emus, ostriches, plains bison, Indian gaur (and domesticated mithun), Turkomen markhor, fallow deer, wapiti, guanaco, llamas, white-bearded wildebeest, Grevy's zebra, and hundreds of bird species.

Other species include the aoudad (or Barbary sheep), Armenian mouflon, Bactrian camel, Eurasian beaver, golden pheasant, grey crowned crane, Indian peafowl and raccoon dog (or tanuki).

The biosphere reserve has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports healthy populations of red-breasted, bar-headed and greater white-fronted geese, mute swan, ruddy shelduck, demoiselle and common cranes, black-winged pratincole, and pallid harriers.