The massive Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam in Russian-controlled Kherson has been destroyed, causing significant flooding, and leading both Ukraine and Russia to blame each other for the disastrous incident.
The dam resides in the city of Nova Kakhovka, which is currently controlled by Russia, and sits on the Dnipro river. The dam holds vast amounts of water, containing as much liquid as the Great Salt Lake in the US.
However, a massive breach in the dam has resulted in huge torrents flooding downstream towards Kherson, where as many as 16,000 civilians live. These civilians have been warned to evacuate to higher ground, as many low-lying regions are less than 50 miles downstream from the breach. According to Ukraine’s hydroelectric operator, the dam installation is “fully destroyed” and will not be possible to repair.
In addition, the river has now been contaminated with 150 tonnes of industrial lubricant according to Ukrainian President Volidimir Zelensky, with a further 300 tonnes at risk of seeping into the water.
Shocking images from the city of Nova Kakhovka show swans floating around a flooded government administrative building.
Swans are currently swimming around the administrative center in Nova Kakhovka. https://t.co/L6lIqiqjto pic.twitter.com/kRv0t34e9n
— OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) June 6, 2023
Local media reports that all 300 animals in the local zoo have drowned except for swans and ducks.
ZOO IN #NOVAKAKHOVKA NO LONGER EXIST: All the animals died
The territory of the zoo completely went under water, only swans and ducks managed to escape, UAnimals reported.
“We tried hard to preserve the zoo during the occupation and now it no longer exists,” the Zoo management… pic.twitter.com/FHMgOCi7GB
— KyivPost (@KyivPost) June 6, 2023
According to the Governor of Kherson Oblast, Oleksandr Prokudin, eight villages have been completely or almost completely flooded with water, with more expected to join them shortly.
The dam is highly important to the war effort, as it provides cooling water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which is controlled by Russia. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said there is no imminent risk of nuclear disaster because there are still several months-worth of cooling water present and other nearby ponds which could be drawn upon if the water level becomes too low. However, they are monitoring the site’s status for any signs of danger.
The dam also carries water to Russian-controlled Crimea, meaning its destruction will likely disrupt water supplies to the pro-Russian citizens living in the area. Previously, in 2014, when Russia seized the Crimean peninsula first, Ukraine blocked water via Nova Kakhovka to the area, resulting in a water crisis in the region.
In addition to all of this, the top of the dam featured a road which would have allowed Ukrainian troops to travel across the Dnipro river to mount a long-awaited counter-offensive in Russian territory, announced on Saturday by President Zelensky. Any potential crossing into Russian territory has now become far more difficult as a result of the dam’s destruction. Russia has also attacked dams in Ukraine in the past amid the ongoing war.
Ukraine’s military has accused Moscow of being behind the incident, dubbing it a “terrorist attack” and pointing out that destroying dams deliberately is a war crime under international law, because such acts often result in such damage to civilian settlements.
“Russia has detonated a bomb of mass environmental destruction,” Zelenskyy said in a statement, calling it “the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades.” He went on to describe Russian President Vladimir Putin as “the most dangerous terrorist in the world.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded with accusations of his own, describing the explosion as a “deliberate” act of “sabotage” by Ukraine.
“We can unequivocally state that we are talking about deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side,” he said during a press briefing in Moscow. He added that Ukraine had conducted the attack to cover the failure of its counter-offensive, which he said is “choking.”
Other Russian officials said that Ukraine had launched “a missile attack” on the dam.