Russia blows up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station: the largest man-made disaster in Europe in recent decades

On June 6, 2023, at about 2:30 am, the Russian occupiers blew up the dam of the Kakhovka Reservoir. 

«Due to the explosion of the engine room from the inside, Kakhovka HPP was completely destroyed, and the station cannot be restored.» – Ukrhydroenergo press service.

 

«This terrorist act has created a deadly danger for Ukrainian citizens in the settlements on both banks of the Dnipro River below the Kakhovka reservoir. This is an undeniable act of ecocide and an obvious war crime, the impact of which goes far beyond Ukraine and affects the ecosystem of the entire Black Sea region,» the Main Directorate of Intelligence reported.

Maxar Technologies has released new satellite images of the Kherson region, which show the extent of the destruction caused by the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

  

The explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant caused an environmental disaster. Water from the reservoir began to flood towns and villages, and evacuations began. As a result of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam blowing up, there were problems with the water supply in Kryvyi Rih, Marhanets, and Nikopol.

The head of the Kherson Regional State Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that as of the morning, 1,852 houses in the right-bank Kherson region had been flooded after the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was blown up.

Many photos and videos are being posted on social media from a number of settlements that are currently being flooded due to the Russians' explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. More than 80 settlements are in the flood zone, and about 16,000 residents need to be evacuated.

     

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the consequences of the Russians' undermining of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam would be clear after the water starts to recede.

«We understand that 35 to 70 settlements will be flooded. We understand that there will be big problems with the supply of drinking water. There will be big problems with drinking water even where it is not flooded. In the whole region: in Dnipropetrovs'k, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions, of course.The consequences of the tragedy will be clear in about a week. In simple terms, when the water goes away. It will be clear what is left, what will happen next.»

 

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia's explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant a horrific war crime and probably the largest man-made disaster in Europe in recent decades.

«Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam, causing probably the largest man-made disaster in Europe in recent decades and endangering the lives of thousands of civilians. This is a horrific war crime. The only way to stop Russia, the biggest terrorist of the 21st century, is to kick it out of Ukraine,» Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

The project «Ukraine: realities» is implemented by the News agency «Konkurent» together with the Civic Movement «SVIDOMI» and the charity organization Global Empowerment Mission in English for readers from other countries to tell the stories of people who survived the horrors of the Russian occupation.

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