Researchers say environmental impact from Kakhovka dam explosion comparable to Chornobyl nuclear disaster The destruction of a large Ukrainian dam in 2023 triggered a “toxic timebomb” of environmental harm, a study has found Lakebed sediments holding 83,000 tonnes of heavy metals were exposed when the Kakhovka dam was blown up one year into Russia’s invasion, researchers found. Less than 1% of these “highly toxic” heavy metals – which include lead, cadmium and nickel – are likely to have been released when the reservoir drained, the scientists found. They said the remaining pollutants would leach into rivers as rains wore down the sediment, threatening human health in a region where river water is widely used to make up for shortages in municipal water supplies. said the scale of the environmental impacts was comparable to the Chornobyl nuclear disaster “All these pollutants that were deposited on the bottom can accumulate in different organisms and spread from vegetation to animals to humans,” said Shumilova a scientist at the Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries “Its consequences can be compared to the effects of radiation.” The researchers linked on-the-ground measurements with remote sensing data and hydrology models to map the environmental impacts of the dam’s destruction which flooded the region and killed 84 people They estimated water from the breach killed 20-30% of floodplain rodents They said the reservoir released 9,000-17,000 tonnes of phytoplankton each day in the first week after the dam was blown up driving an increase in water turbidity that led to the “probable loss” of 10,000 tonnes of macroinvertebrates The destruction of natural life detailed in the study appears to contrast with the striking images of wildlife that has returned to the reservoir since the dam burst White willows and black poplars have reforested the land and wild boars and other animals have taken over areas that people still avoid The researchers expect that the area will reach a level of biodiversity equivalent to 80% of an undammed ecosystem within five years it’s better to use a word such as re-establish,” said Shumilova “It means that it will develop its own way but not necessarily to the initial conditions.” The Kakhovka dam, which was built in the 1950s on the Dnipro River, was destroyed on 6 June 2023 while under Russian occupation. Its reservoir supplied water to cool the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant and irrigate southern Ukraine 1:08Before and after Nova Kakhovka dam collapse in Ukraine – videoUkrainian ecologists have debated whether the dam should be rebuilt after the war – and how much land should be flooded if it is – with some arguing for the new ecosystem to be left alone as part of a growing movement to rewild human-disturbed areas Shumilova said that the unresolved question of heavy metal contamination complicated this approach because it was unclear whether the vegetation was enough to keep the exposed sediments in place “It’s still something that people have to investigate,” she said it’s difficult because of the war – it’s difficult for scientists to go there to take samples and conduct experiments.” Free weekly newsletterThe planet's most important stories Get all the week's environment news - the good Shumilova, a Berlin-based researcher whose home town of Mykolaiv was cut off from water for a full month at the start of the war said the study findings were relevant for peacetime removals of large dams as well as for other wars between industrialised countries Water has repeatedly been used as a weapon of war in Ukraine, with attackers and defenders having blown up dams for military gain. Legal scholars say the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, which Ukraine blames on Russia could constitute an environmental war crime a law researcher at the East West University in Bangladesh who has published research on the legal consequences of the Kakhovka dam’s destruction said the new findings “suggest that the damage is ‘widespread fulfilling one of the key requirements for an environmental war crime” But he added that the speed of the ecosystem’s recovery could affect the strength of the case “If the recovery is faster – and if that was anticipated by the perpetrator while attacking – that may compromise the finding of ‘long-term’ damage in the context of environmental war crime.” Last month, a separate study exploring the effects of the Kakhovka dam destruction on the Black Sea ecosystems observed some habitats and species replenishing but found “significant habitat destruction disturbances and pollutant damages remain” an ecologist at the Smithsonian Institution and co-author of the study estuarine and marine species “evolved under conditions of longtime flux” This “may aid their resilience and recovery” This article was amended on 17 March 2025 because an earlier version referred to Shah Maruf as a law researcher at the University of Dhaka; he has now moved to the East West University in Bangladesh 2024 5:57 PM6 min readA view of a flooded area in Kherson saying it would lead to a “large-scale disaster.” This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Subscriptions An explosion collapsed the Russian-occupied dam on 6 June killed 59 people and unknown amount of wildlife in the largest environmental catastrophe of the war so far Sign up to emails Subscribe to Byline Times Byline Times is an independent, reader-funded investigative newspaper, outside of the system of the established press, reporting on ‘what the papers don’t say’ – without fear or favour To support its work, subscribe to the monthly Byline Times print edition Mykhailo Mulenko walked along the banks of the Dnipro River watching as the rapidly receding water exposed the river’s riparian zones and aquatic plants to death under the sun’s heat An explosion had collapsed the Russian-occupied Kakhovka Dam the river’s depth in Zaporizhzhia had dropped by around four meters where 40-year-old Mulenko works as the Head of Nature Protection at the Khortytsia National Reserve.  “This territory is one of the most important points on the transnational bird migration route,” he explained at the time.  “When birds fly from north to south, they stop exactly at these territories; here at Khortytsia, and downstream in the Kakhovka reservoir, there are valuable wetlands where they could nest, fatten their young and fly on. Now this area is completely lost as an object of the emerald network of Kakhovka Reservoir.”  almost universally attributed to occupying Russian forces destroyed the hydroelectric plant and released 18 million cubic meters worth of water onto 80 unsuspecting villages and towns downstream Dead fish that were unable to escape into deeper water rotted on the banks of the Dnipro and attached inlets, putting severe stress on delicate ecosystems, some of which are protected as a part of the European Council’s Emerald Network.  Mark Temnycky explores the consequences on global food supplies of what appears to be yet another example of the Kremlin’s ecological terrorism more than a year since the initial disaster researchers and biologists like Mulenko have been able to better assess the extent of the ecological consequences Despite the initial toll on humans and the environment remaining extreme some encouraging signs have been observed in the river ecology of the former Kakhovka Reservoir As Russia’s war on Ukraine continues to devastate the environment these developments are inspiring a cautious optimism that nature will be able to overcome the brutal damages of the war.  and we didn’t know how this area would develop in the future Whether it would turn into a desert or become overgrown with weeds—no one could imagine what would actually happen,” Mulenko explained during a recent visit to Zaporizhzhia we see that this area is actively recovering not just through the development of vegetation Wildlife is also returning to this area in large numbers: deer and a significant number of waterfowl and shorebirds.”  but much more are abandoned on Russia-occupied territories The Kakhovka Reservoir was formed after the construction of the dam and hydroelectric plant of the same name between 1950 and 1956 as the last in a series of six hydroelectric dams built by the Soviet Union along the Dnipro River supply the cooling ponds for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant as well as important canals such as the Northern Crimean Canal the massive reservoir was not without its faults and large amounts of pollution from agricultural and industrial runoff also characterised the reservoir Various indigenous species of fish were blocked by the dam from migrating upstream to spawn a problem common to hydroelectric dams globally the prevalence of industrial and agricultural pollution in the reservoir initially sparked concerns that the bed of the former reservoir could dry up into a desert creating the opportunity for sandstorms to spread toxic sediments throughout the region of all the problems that remain — a lack of drinking and agricultural water for the region’s communities being primary — this fortunately is not one the formerly submerged areas have become green with grasses The speed of regeneration has exceeded many local expectations.  it was more of a problem for people than for nature,” explained Tetyana Yarmokhina and hydrogeologist from Zaporizhzhia who is also one of the city’s leading eco-activists Even the Russian state’s propagandists are asking ”What was the point of even starting this whole thing?” Willow is a resilient plant with strong wood and in just one year the forest has grown two-three meters tall The ecologists say that nature has done its homework,” she explained.  “In the area where they thought a catastrophe would occur this area was called the ‘Great Meadow’ by the Cossacks.”  A semi-nomadic people who flourished in the region during the 15th and 16th centuries the Cossacks were originally composed of those who fled serfdom and the feudal relations that dominated the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Muscovy at the time They were known for their semi-democratic society and military skills, a legacy that is often symbolically adapted to the contemporary existential struggle against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.  As major Cossack settlements were located in areas that are now present-day Zaporizhzhia and Khortytsia Island one unexpected consequence of the dramatic drop in river depth has been the surfacing of Cossack and other archaeological artifacts a Cossack-era canoe was discovered in the newly exposed river bank of Khortytsia Island the partial skeletal remains of an Ice Age-era mammoth were discovered for the first time in the region As significant as these archaeological finds are perhaps the most encouraging development has been the return of wildlife to the region after so much loss specifically species of fish that had long since disappeared from the reservoir and are now appearing in the river again.  which used to inhabit the Dnipro River before the creation of the Kakhovka Reservoir are returning to the riverbed that was exposed after the reservoir and dam were destroyed,” explained Mulenko.  very good because the fish population in the reservoir was extremely small as the river has retained its natural course The purifying quality of a river returning to its natural state has been a particularly positive development when considering that industrial pollution continues to plague the Dnipro as it flows through Zaporizhzhia city and infamous heavy industry The Foreign Secretary’s attack on Russian President was in stark contrast to Joe Biden’s final speech at the UN General Assembly on 24 September the river’s banks have been extended by dozens resulting in less water available to dilute the pollution that ends up in the water Signs posted along the city beach warn swimmers not to enter the water though this does not stop people from fishing along the exposed banks.  The water has dropped and there is something You can see it and smell it,” explained a 36-year-old local fisherman named Sergei I don’t have any horns on my head yet,” he joked as water with an oily sheen lapped against the rocky bank.  Though pollution remains a primary challenge to the health of the ecosystem for the first time in more than 70 years the river is flowing in its natural state between the Zaporizhzhia’s Soviet-era hydroelectric dam and the Black Sea The birds that Mulenko feared would be gone in the immediate aftermath of the disaster are returning rare species typically not seen are making a comeback.  “We now more frequently observe bird species that choose this area during migration now that the reservoir is gone,” explained Mulenko.  “Some species of shelducks; the ruddy shelduck These are species more typical of northern countries they used to nest in this area and when the reservoir was created to the area that is actively being restored.”  Receive the monthly Byline Times newspaper and help to support fearless, independent journalism that breaks stories shapes the agenda and holds power to account We’re not funded by a billionaire oligarch or an offshore hedge-fund We rely on our readers to fund our journalism the potential for nature to recover often remains the one hopeful aspect of an otherwise very bleak situation.  and when even one person dies—and many have died—it’s when we all were alarmed about the reservoir and no one knew what to do — of course no one would have done it by blowing it up — but it happened as it did to remove the dam was the ‘right decision.’”  Byline Times is brought to you by a dedicated team of journalists and contributors – producing independent, fearless, investigative and thought-provoking journalism not found in the established media. We are regulated by Impress To find the nearest newsagent stocking this month’s edition, search here. AboutContactSubscriptions Complaints Byline Media Holdings Ltd, Byline Times & Yes We Work Ltd A blog of the Kennan Institute 2023: Ukrainian police evacuate people from a flooded area after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam "На Херсонщині триває рятувальна операція: залучено 694 поліцейських",  Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0) The June 6 destruction of the Kakhovka dam by the Russian occupiers was a catastrophe not only for Ukraine but for the entire Eurasian region What are the consequences of one of the worst human-caused disasters of our time for the region's residents and the environment When the previously mined dam in Nova Kakhovka the waters released from the huge Kakhovka reservoir rushed downstream and other villages along the left bank of the Dnipro river the water flowed into small rivers to the West of Dnipro and began to flood remote settlements far from the Kakhovka reservoir small villages along the Ingulets in Mykolaiv oblast became inundated At the same time, in the wake of the massive water exodus, river levels south of Zaporizhzhia, above the dam, dropped, exposing the riverbed. A massive fish die-off ensued, and rescuers found unexploded shells from missiles that Russia had earlier launched toward Zaporizhzhia and Dnipro city. Some number of landmines have also been dislodged by the floodwaters and swept downstream where their locations can no longer be tracked The collapse of the dam reduced the volume of water available to the North Crimean Canal the main source of freshwater to the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula The water level in the reservoir has dropped below the intake level and water will soon stop flowing to occupied Crimea The destruction of the hydroelectric power plant has also reduced the freshwater supply in the southern part of Kherson oblast and northern Crimea Official figures indicate that the Kakhovka reservoir has lost more than 72 percent of its former store of water local authorities have urged residents to limit water consumption because the dam had fed water to the reservoirs in these regions one of the biggest industrial cities in Ukraine a large part of the city may be left without water for the next month Though residents of Ukraine were immediately informed of the dam’s collapse many were unaware of the potential for massive flooding or did not think it would reach the scale it did in the village of Vasylivka in Mikolaiv oblast a fifty-three-year-old man did not leave his house for a safer place because he thought nothing would happen; he went to bed and drowned The leader of the local community (starosta) told me that because people did not believe that the dam breach in Nova Kakhovka would lead to flooding far beyond the Dnipro river household appliances—everything was ruined by water both on the Russian-occupied left bank and in Ukrainian-controlled towns and villages on the right bank The sudden surge of water caught many people by surprise Agricultural animals and domestic pets trapped in the flood zone without an escape route also died rescuers and volunteers were able to evacuate more than 4,000 people according to official figures from the Ukrainian emergency services more than 3,100 homes remained under water Most of them will probably be uninhabitable when the water finally recedes Many houses in the villages of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts are built of brick and clay and the walls are literally disintegrating as they become waterlogged External Humanitarian Aid Slow to Arrive and Misdirected As soon as the dam breach and water spill were recognized and prominent figures began collecting money and organizing humanitarian relief for the affected areas Many went to Kherson to help in the evacuation of residents and pets.  food and cash to people affected by floods in Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts in partnership with the local authorities since the first day of this disaster most of the early international aid went to Kherson Much less humanitarian aid and volunteer support went to remote settlements and districts in the flooded areas many of which have lost road connections that would allow residents to leave executive director of the Bright Deeds Foundation the largest local charitable foundation in Mykolaiv which has been collecting and delivering humanitarian aid throughout the region from the start of Russia's invasion international support has dropped significantly over the past few months the foundation's warehouses were overflowing with goods and products and most of the prominent international organizations were among the donors and the humanitarian aid is sponsored mostly by Ukrainian citizens The Kakhovka dam collapse is being called a new Chernobyl This is one of the biggest human-caused disasters of our time and unusable agricultural lands are just some of the costs of a degraded environment Agricultural Sector. The loss of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant means that more than one million hectares of land in three southern oblasts of Ukraine—Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts—will be unusable for the next three to five years for lack of a water supply. Environmentalists predict that over the next twenty years this will have a critical impact on the agricultural sector: farmland in the South will dry up and reclamation systems will be damaged without water Before the Kakhovka Reservoir and the reclamation system were created most of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia was arid land These oblasts were settled over the past 150–200 years following the introduction of new crop cultivation technologies that permitted successful irrigation The reclamation system helped spread the cultivation of grain crops—wheat Without artificial irrigation from the Kaniv Reservoir on the Dnipro in Cherkasy and Kyiv oblasts, however, the entire agricultural industry would collapse, Vitalii Selyk, an energy history expert, said in an interview with the Ukrainian media outlet Zaborona it will be impossible to provide water to the entire southern region and the agricultural sector will lose a significant amount of grain and other crops Selyk also says that Ukraine is not in danger of famine as before the start of the full-scale war the country held a record for grain production and harvested about 50 million tons while the domestic need was 20 million tons the problem of drought in southern Ukraine threatens the food security of African and Asian countries reliant on Ukrainian exports The Kakhovka dam disaster could lead to higher grain prices This is happening in the context of the existing grain crisis caused by Russia's blocking the Black Sea trade routes and stealing grain from Ukrainian territories a lot of waste would likely have been washed toward and into the Black Sea Such a large amount of organic pollution will significantly degrade water quality It is already known that at least 150 tons of machine oil have leaked into the Dnipro and there is a risk of further leakage of more than 300 tons all the wells in the flooded area will be unusable even after the water recedes Another problem is that not all farm animals have been evacuated and their corpses could pose an epidemic threat the steppe areas where many rare Red Data Book animals live are flooded Most likely the world has already lost a large number of rare animals as a result of the flood Experts also say that the destruction of the dam will affect the drainage of the Dnipro riverbed with possible consequences including sandstorms and potential desertification of neighboring regions These effects are most likely to be felt in Kherson where they will add to the largest desert in Europe Because of the enormous consequences for the environment of the dam breach a partial rehabilitation of nature is one of the key tasks for the coming years A comprehensive treatment of the South will require the efforts of possibly hundreds of specialists from around the world and the deoccupation of the territories captured by Russia The opinions expressed in this article are those solely of the author and do not reflect the views of the Kennan Institute According to Ukrinform, this was reported by Head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration (RMA), Oleksandr Prokudin, in an interview with The Guardian Russian forces are repeatedly trying to seize a foothold across the Dnipro River launching operations that result in heavy losses in an effort to gain territory ahead of future peace negotiation Prokudin stated that Russian forces are trying to cross the river in four locations to justify their claims over the entire region — one of four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has declared its intention to "annex." The RMA chief believes that Russian soldiers have been given orders to “to make the right bank part of the negotiation" by capturing at least one village across the river Prokudin suggested that Russia aims to "tick a box" to show its presence on the right bank thus strengthening its claim over the entire region It is noted that Russian offensives are taking place in four locations: across the marshy islands at the mouth of the Dnipro a treacherous grey zone; the Antonivka road and rail bridges east of Kherson city; and the villages of Lvove and Zmiivka the latter of which is upstream of the destroyed Nova Kakhovka dam Russian forces attempted seven assaults on Ukrainian Armed Forces positions on the left bank of the Dnipro Ukrainian forces liberated the right-bank part of the Kherson region the left-bank part of the region remains temporarily occupied by Russian forces While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 birds and saplings are populating a new landscape of ponds and lagoons Standing in a scene of shimmering green Vadym Maniuk pointed to a young white willow tree “What happened here is a miracle,” he said “Some of the saplings are already 4 metres tall There is nowhere else like this on the planet picked his way through a jungle of new branches In the mud – cracked after days of sweltering temperatures – were the remains of molluscs Vadym Maniuk in the former Kakhovka reservoir White willows and black poplars have grown rapidly Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The GuardianJust over a year ago the spot where Maniuk stood was under several metres of water In the 1920s Stalin ordered the construction of a series of hydroelectric power stations along the Dnipro The area between two of the dams – one in Zaporizhzhia the other in Kakhovka – became a vast artificial lake This Soviet reservoir swallowed up ancient Cossack sites as well as vegetable gardens and grazing pastures used by generations of Ukrainian villagers as a source of food and fuel The Kremlin promised modernity instead: electricity and irrigation for fields and collective farms across the southern region The explosion released more than 14 cubic kilometres of water flooded settlements and killed at least 35 people described the destruction as a “deliberate and calculated crime” the reservoir resembled an alien landscape The Russians were about 10 miles away and smoke billowed in the distance On the banks of the ex-reservoir are boulders and a white nacreous shore made up of dead molluscs and looks similar to the primordial forest of 100,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age A cuckoo and swallows flew above the treeline said she saw wild boar from her second-floor balcony “Scientists say rebuilding the reservoir after Ukraine wins will cause a second ecocide I’m more worried the boar will eat our vegetables,” she said After the 2023 strike the water level at the Dnipro dam fell by 5 metres Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The GuardianThe Dnipro has resumed its old course Fish not seen for eight decades have reappeared Police discovered this remarkable fact when they arrested a group of poachers There are more bream and perch,” Maniuk said The reservoir’s demise hasn’t thrilled everybody The pipes that supplied Malokaterynivka with water have gone dry Since June the authorities have been delivering drinking water by truck We can’t water them properly any more,” said Lida Spilnyk complained that his potato harvest was smaller than usual Liudmyla Volyk Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The GuardianVolyk said residents frequently heard explosions Two Ukrainian helicopters clattered above the village previously home to 3,200 people and now reduced to 2,500 adding that 13 “of our boys” had died fighting Russia “We are sitting on a powder keg,” she said Free weekly newsletterThe most pressing stories and debates for Europeans – from identity to economics to the environment the head of the nature protection department at the Khortytsia national reserve said the loss of water was a socioeconomic blow But he added: “The reservoir was bad for nature Now we have a chance to use what happened for change.” His preferred solution in the future was to rebuild a smaller reservoir or a navigable canal The Khortytsia Island reserve looks out on the Dnipro dam in Zaporizhzhia once a featureless lake and now a chain of gull-filled rocky islands and rapids These would have been familiar to the 16th-century warrior Cossacks who built a fortress on its banks as part of a fledgling Ukrainian state Mykhailo Mulenko the head of the nature protection department Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The GuardianA chain of ponds and reed-filled lagoons have emerged The island’s coves are littered with dead clams and fish said the new ecosystem had boosted the number of yellow-bellied toads Sand martins swooped over the surface of the water and spotted flycatchers squeaked in the treetops nearby Ruddy shelducks were recently spotted bobbing in the water together with Canada geese, which are little seen in Ukraine. Moss and lichens were thriving, Mulenko said. The island is home to a small population of roe and sika deer. “I think we have a very interesting ecological system. In a way, it’s a wonder. There is nothing else like this in Europe,” he said Discussions over the reservoir began well before Russians blew up the Khakovka dam and road crossing in Kherson oblast This would take at least five years and cost $1bn (£770m) Environmentalists want the territory to develop naturally has exposed archaeological sites hidden since the 1950s as well as other artefacts left behind by third-century Goths and medieval Tatars The Soviets deliberately submerged many of them in order to eradicate Ukraine’s rich pre-Russian history the Greek historian Herodotus gave a vivid account of Scythian culture of trees of all kinds,” he noted in his celebrated Histories the deputy head of heritage protection in the Kherson region said: “We don’t know much about these sites The digs that did take place in the early 20th century used old-fashioned methods.” Items recovered included ceramics weapons and a 2,500-year-old clove of garlic found in an ancient stove The former Kakhovka reservoir is now a forest of willow and poplar trees Photograph: Alessio Mamo/The GuardianOver the past year archeologists have made only a handful of trips to the newly exposed monuments Some potential expedition spots were disappearing again under a carpet of green foliage And of course we have no access to occupied territories,” he said The trees that survive will mature in 50 or 60 years first willow and then species such as oaks an explosion destroyed a critical infrastructure in southern Ukraine – the Nova Kakhovka dam The dam held back the amount of water equal to that of the Great Salt Lake in the USA This vast amount of water was unleashed downstream along the Dnipro river This disaster has put thousands of lives at risk making the already dire conditions faced by Ukrainian people even worse and deadly mines are being washed up onto the shores The affected communities have been cut off water and electricity leaving them completely dependent on humanitarian assistance The consequences of this disaster extend beyond human suffering as there will likely be significant ecological devastation in years to come the EU’s humanitarian partners are providing emergency assistance on the ground In addition, the EU has mobilised material assistance via its Civil Protection Mechanism and rescEU strategic reserves The photos below offer a glimpse into the devastating aftermath of the Nova Kakhovka dam breach many will look towards the International Criminal Court (ICC) to make that happen But is the ICC Prosecutor likely to investigate the Nova Kakhovka Dam destruction potentially with reference to utilizing environmental destruction to attack the civilian population but will almost certainly be felt for generations The fact that Russia occupied the Nova Kakhovka Dam could prove a challenge to successfully prosecuting a potential Article 8(2)(b)(iv) case against Russian actors However potential challenges on that note at the prosecution stage – should it ever come to one – are unlikely at this point to be the main factor in the ICC Prosecutor’s decision-making concerning whether the Nova Kakhovka Dam destruction should be in the first place investigated would vastly expand the Court’s jurisdiction over environmental crimes long-term environmental implications along with devastation for the communities along the Dnipro River the ICC’s actions in Ukraine are in “perfect alignment with the consolidated position of powerful Western/Global North military and economic alliances (NATO and EU) against a common foe they are determined to defeat on all fronts including the legal one.” If that “common foe” appears responsible for what could be among the worst environmental catastrophes happening in an armed conflict in decades key audiences of the Court will call for it to act and they will do so with a determined voice but it may still be seen as a good selling point in the Prosecutor’s Office it looks more likely that Moscow is not the culprit here the ICC’s options would perhaps be perceived differently any ICC activity that runs counter to this narrative will inevitably be a much harder sell for the Court The Nova Kakhovka Dam destruction, already labelled an act of “ecocide” by some, including the Ukrainian leadership will undoubtedly reinforce calls for the ICC to focus more on environmental crimes and further energize the ecocide movement Depending on how circumstances develop in the time ahead the ICC could be tempted to open its first-ever environmental crimes investigation This would be symbolically significant and a major development in international criminal justice even if such an investigation moves forward we should not forget the challenges experienced with enforcement at the ICC level Neither should we forget that potential environmental crimes accountability at the ICC will assumedly operate on similar conditions to those defining the Court’s operations to date The result is that the Court can proceed with confidence when operating in line with the interests of key players in the rules-based international order but is drastically limited in its options if seeking to challenge these interests – and that is a real obstacle to providing meaningful accountability for environmental crimes at the ICC in the longer run Thomas Obel Hansen (@obelhansen) is currently (2023-24) appointed the Maria Zambrano Distinguished Researcher with the Carlos III University in Madrid He is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Law at Ulster University and a member of the Transitional Justice Institute (TJI) since January 2016 Stay up to date with Just Security curated newsletters: Just Security provides expert analysis and informational resources on the issues that matter most—without paywalls Just Security is an editorially independent daily digital law and policy journal housed in the Reiss Center on Law and Security at the New York University School of Law Support Just Security in shaping a more informed and secure world by making a tax-deductible donation of any size through the NYU giving page Donate Now Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the huge dam which provides water to Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant In the early hours on Tuesday, footage began to emerge of water spilling from the strategically important Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine. The Ukraine army’s southern military command said the dam had been blown up by Russian forces The local Russian-installed mayor has called it a “terrorist act” 1:18Ukraine: thousands evacuate in fear of catastrophic flooding after dam collapses – videoNova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River lies about 20 miles (30km) east of the city of Kherson Its destruction will have a number of significant repercussions for the local area – and for Ukraine’s wider war effort The dam traverses Ukraine’s enormous Dnipro River The dam itself is 30 metres tall and hundreds of metres wide It was built in 1956 as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant The reservoir it contains holds an estimated 18 cubic kilometres of water about the same volume as the Great Salt Lake in Utah Bursting the dam could send a wall of water flooding settlements below it which Ukrainian forces recaptured in late 2022 Soon after Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the dam the head of the Kherson region urged residents to evacuate the area warning that “water will reach a critical level in 5 hours” Water from the reservoir supplies the Crimean peninsula to the south It also helps power the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant Its destruction will add to Ukraine’s ongoing energy problems after Russia spent weeks earlier this year targeting vital infrastructure It will also be likely to wreck the canal system that irrigates much of southern Ukraine A satellite image of the dam taken in February Photograph: Maxar Technologies Handout/EPAHas it been threatened before?Since the start of Russia’s war against Ukraine the Nova Kakhovka dam has been earmarked as a potential target for both its strategic importance – as well as the damage that its destruction would unleash It was captured by Russia at the start of Moscow’s February 2022 invasion as Ukraine was in the midst of reclaiming large parts of occupied Kherson Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged the west to warn Russia not to blow up the dam warning that it would flood a large area of southern Ukraine he claimed that Russian forces had planted explosives inside the dam Zelenskiy said “destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster” and compared such an act to the use of weapons of mass destruction Ukraine military intelligence said “the scale of the ecological disaster [would] go far beyond the borders of Ukraine and affect the entire Black Sea region” Russia accused Kyiv of rocketing the dam and planning to destroy it After Ukraine recaptured Kherson in November images emerged of some significant damage to the dam Russia had accused Ukraine of shelling the dam in its campaign to recapture Kherson An image from November showing damage to the dam Photograph: Maxar Technology/AFP/Getty Images1:16Ukrainians rescued after destruction of major dam leaves houses underwater – videoWhat has been happening this year?In May residents in a nearby village reported ongoing flooding which they blamed on Russia’s occupation of Nova Kakhovka locals said the water level had begun to rise in April Ukrainian officials said the rise of the Dnipro’s water level “as a result of which settlements in the Zaporizhzhia region were flooded is linked to the Russian occupation of the Kakhovka dam” But they added that they were unable to say what exactly Russian forces were doing at the dam because they did not have access themselves A Russian energy official said in May that the dam risked being overwhelmed by record-high water levels Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Russian proxy officials in the city of Nova Kakhovka in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region said Tuesday that they were relocating deeper into Russian-held territory because they were increasingly under fire from Ukrainian forces The officials’ exit from Nova Kakhovka located on the left bank of the Dnipro River comes days after Russian forces withdrew from the regional capital of Kherson in one of their most significant setbacks in the war "Employees of the state administration of Nova Kakhovka, as well as state and municipal institutions, have left the city and were relocated to safe locations in the region," the city’s Moscow-appointed authorities said on the Telegram messaging app Russian military forces are not abandoning Nova Kakhovka or neighboring settlements on the left bank of the Dnipro River It added that "crews of municipal workers" were working to ensure the "functioning of energy and water supply systems." Ukraine’s General Staff on Monday claimed that Russia has moved large numbers of troops from around Nova Kakhovka to shore up its positions in other parts of Ukraine.  which is the location of the Kakhovka Reservoir and Hydroelectric Power Plant has faced increased shelling in recent days as Ukrainian forces’ counteroffensive has continued to gain ground After falling into Russian hands in the early days of the conflict which also has two bridges over the Dnipro and is key to controlling Ukraine’s south has been fiercely contested by the two warring sides.  Two spans of the Kakhovka bridges as well as the Antonivsky Bridge further downstream in Kherson city were destroyed amid Moscow’s retreat last week effectively cutting off the southern part of Kherson from the north.  the Kherson region’s Moscow-installed governor also claimed Tuesday that Russia has evacuated a number of civilians in recent days thousands of Nova Kakhovka residents responded to the Kherson regional administration’s calls to protect their lives and left their homes.”  The Kherson region is one of four regions that Russia annexed in September in a move widely unrecognized by the international community Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression Graphics Analysts from the United Nations Satellite Centre - Unosat have begun to assess the damage caused by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine on June 6 Preliminary analysis of satellite images of the nearby city of Nova Kakhovka has concluded there is significant flooding and damage to buildings along both banks of the Dnipro River below the dam’s reservoir This map illustrates the areas in Khersonska Oblast that were flooded according to satellite imagery after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam near Kherson Source: Flooded areas (United Nations Satellite Centre - Unosat) The dam’s reservoir holds 18 cubic kilometres (4.3 cubic miles) of water - a volume roughly equal to the Great Salt Lake in the U.S It is not known how many people may have died as a result of the flooding The Russian-installed mayor of Nova Kakhovka said on Thursday at least five people had died but the total death toll is sure to be much higher UN analysis shows significant flooding along a 90 km stretch of the Dnipro River to the Black Sea Hundreds of Ukrainians were rescued from rooftops in the flood-stricken southern region of Kherson on Thursday after floodwaters submerged villages said 68% of the flooded territory was on the Russian-occupied bank of the Dnipro River The “average level of flooding” in the Kherson region on Thursday morning was 5.61 meters (18.41 ft) that were flooded according to satellite imagery after the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam near Kherson Note: Observed from a Sentinel-3 image acquired on June 6 and a Sentinel-2 image acquired on June 3 and June 5 Photos by Alexey Konovalov/TASS/Handout via REUTERS and Vladyslav Smilianets/REUTERS Russia and Ukraine have traded blame for the bursting of the Soviet-era dam and also accused each other on Thursday of shelling the area as rescue workers in rubber dinghies tried to save people and animals from the still-rising flood waters about 60 km (37 miles) downstream from the dam said he could hear what sounded like artillery fire but could not immediately provide details Screen grab taken from a video obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS Screen grab taken from a video obtained by Reuters/via REUTERS the news and media division of Thomson Reuters is the world’s largest multimedia news provider reaching billions of people worldwide every day national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals Donate irrigation of cropland in southern Ukraine and northern Crimea and safety at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant by supplying its cooling ponds The dam’s installed hydroelectric capacity at the time of its destruction was 357 MW approximately 5% of Ukraine’s total hydropower and it was the sixth and final dam in the Dnipro cascade – a series of dams and reservoirs along the highly engineered River Dnipro 37 m tall and around 3.2 km in length; drone footage suggested that the section initially breached in the incident was around 85 m long These may have been contributing factors in the dam collapse Russia had occupied the facility since February 2022 and Our analysis revealed a total of 88 hazardous sites visibly impacted by floodwater.2 The flooding of these industrial facilities likely caused the release of significant volumes of fuels and other pollutants In addition to pollution from larger industrial facilities petrol stations and landfills in settlements on both banks Of the 88 facilities we identified, 49 were situated in areas of Ukrainian control, while 38 were on the Russian-occupied left bank. Significant asymmetries were reported in the emergency humanitarian response between Ukrainian-held areas and Russian-occupied areas and these disparities may also have been reflected in any subsequent environmental monitoring and assessment As ours was a rapid remote analysis it inevitably faced a number of limitations In the case of pollutant releases this included the need to generalise about potential pollutants and constraints on our ability to identify particular pathways and receptors The purpose of the analysis was to help inform subsequent more detailed assessment and monitoring activity The Russian-held left bank of the Dnipro features kilometres of trenches and fortified positions These defensive sites were likely protected with landmines used to store military materiel and will contain military wastes mines and unexploded ordnance were mobilised by the flood A total of 117 military objects, including trenches, had been recorded along the left bank of the Dnipro. Of these, we identified 47 that were flooded. It is important to acknowledge that 38 of these military objects were built in areas of ecological significance. The HALO Trust which had been conducting demining operations along the right bank was forced to re-survey previously cleared areas following the flooding and The HALO Trust reported that the torrent of water was powerful enough to dislodge them and in some cases cause 10kg anti-vehicle mines to detonate The status of hazardous areas under Russian control on the left bank is unclear the flood intensity was greater than that of seasonal flood events and carried a higher sediment and pollutant load The influence of the floodwaters extended far beyond these areas in the lower Dnipro, discharging sediments and debris into the Black Sea and along its northern coastline. Seafloor habitats may also have been affected, including the important and vulnerable Zernov’s Phyllophora Fields water mixing and productivity in the northern Black Sea The influx of freshwater and its huge load of nutrients increased the likelihood of plankton blooms. Although such blooms are common due to nutrient loading from agriculture, there were reports that blooms grew 150-300 times larger than during normal conditions Specialists from the Odesa-based Ukrainian Scientific Centre for Marine Ecology suggested that 40-50% of these blooms were potentially dangerous due to the production of toxins The flooding and deposition of contaminants has and will have a significant impact on the provision of ecosystem services. This includes drinking water, groundwater supply and quality renewable energy provision and aquaculture The scale and scope of the environmental impacts from the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam are enormous While this post and the initial assessment focused on the flooded areas downstream the environmental consequences for areas upstream of the dam are perhaps more profound and likely to play out over a longer time period It is already clear that these impacts encompass water provision but over time it is likely that other environmental dimensions will become apparent and lessons from the response should inform future models for rapid environmental humanitarian responses it is important that such large-scale events do not detract from the smaller but more numerous incidents that are causing environmental harm on a daily basis in Ukraine We continue to compile our analytical database of such incidents to ensure that environmental harm is tracked recovery and advocacy activities are supported Leon Moreland is a Junior Researcher with CEOBS Senior Researcher Eoghan Darbyshire also contributed to this post © 2025 Conflict and Environment Observatory | Charity No: 1174115 | Design by Open & Honest You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed David Hastings Dunn has previously received funding from the ESRC the Open Democracy Foundation and has previously been both a NATO and a Fulbright Fellow Stefan Wolff is a past recipient of grant funding from the Natural Environment Research Council of the UK the Economic and Social Research Council of the UK the EU Framework Programmes 6 and 7 and Horizon 2020 as well as the EU's Jean Monnet Programme He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Foreign Policy Centre in London and Co-Coordinator of the OSCE Network of Think Tanks and Academic Institutions University of Birmingham provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK View all partners The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam came just as Ukraine’s much-anticipated counter-offensive seemed poised to begin The breaching of the dam, apparently caused by a massive explosion or explosions has spilled water from a reservoir with a volume of 16.4km³ across a huge area of the Kherson region of Russian-occupied southern Ukraine The dam’s destruction has led Moscow and Kyiv to accuse each other of what is arguably a war crime. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was conveniently well-prepared with his statement that: “We can already unequivocally declare (this was) deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side,” declaring that Kyiv’s aim was to deprive Crimea of water There are precedents in Russia’s history for such action. Stalin ordered the destruction of a dam across the Dnipro river in 1941 in the face of invading German forces. Russia also practised a scorched earth policy during Napoleon’s invasion in 1812 leaving the French army little to live on and only the burning ruins of Moscow to capture Devastating destruction of things that it claims to value appears part of the Russian way of war It is important to note that thus far there is no conclusive proof as to how the dam was breached, although there are widespread reports of an explosion in the early hours of Tuesday morning despite the competing claims in this instance the key question is who is likely to benefit most from what could develop into a major disaster far beyond the banks of the Dnipro river According to Mykhailo Podolyak, one of Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky’s most senior advisers, the answer to this question is clear: to thwart the Ukrainian offensive in this area Given where the dam is located, such an argument makes sense. The enormous flood that it has triggered is likely to devastate vast areas on both banks of the Dnipro south towards Crimea. This will make offensive operations by Ukrainian ground forces in this area difficult and without similarly weakening Russian defensive lines Moreover, it will also make it more difficult for Ukrainian forces to advance further towards Crimea, the peninsula that Russia has illegally occupied since 2014. The dam itself also featured a roadway that Ukrainian forces could have used to advance into the Kherson region as part of their counter offensive is currently much more difficult to cross for any advancing forces Crimea is also affected in another way by this man-made disaster: it crucially depends on the Nova Kakhovka reservoir for drinking water and for irrigation will have immediate and longer-term humanitarian and economic impacts the scale of which is difficult to estimate at this time Such an act of economic self-harm also begs the question of how committed Russia is to its future in Crimea It looks more like a bid to inflict long-term damage to the viability of Ukraine as a functioning society and economy The apparent willingness of Russia to target infrastructure in this way can also be read as indication that Russia lacks the ability to thwart the Ukrainian counter-offensive with conventional military forces the Kremlin seems prepared to employ economic and environmental vandalism in an effort to turn the tide in this conflict The attempt to blame the action on Kyiv is reminiscent of earlier episodes where the Kremlin attempted to construct a narrative about Ukrainian plans to detonate a dirty bomb or accusing Washington of running secret biological and chemical weapons laboratories in Ukraine The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam points to a new phase in this war It demonstrates Moscow’s effort to control the narrative as to who is responsible for the most heinous acts in the conflict after many months of negative coverage of the Russian conduct of the war The Kremlin has also sought to make the most of drone attacks on Moscow which it has similarly painted as acts of “terrorism” But the destruction of a dam that held back a body of water the size of America’s Great Salt Lake and provides hydro-electric power and drinking water and irrigation to Crimea suggests a callous disregard for the inhabitants of destroying the country for years to come But the likely effect of such destructive acts on the population of Ukraine will be to strengthen their resolve to liberate their country and beyond that to end the Russian threat to their nation in the future David Brennan is Newsweek's Diplomatic Correspondent covering world politics and conflicts from London with a focus on NATO David joined Newsweek in 2018 and has since reported from key locations and summits across Europe and the South Caucasus This includes extensive reporting from the Baltic David graduated from the University of Cambridge having specialized in the history of empires and revolutions You can contact David at d.brennan@newsweek.com and follow him on Twitter @DavidBrennan100 either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine could imperil the supply of fresh water to the Russian-occupied Crimea, a key component of Moscow's hold on the peninsula which was a priority for President Vladimir Putin in the opening days of the full-scale February 2022 invasion The dam spanned the Dnieper River which currently forms part of the front line between Ukrainian forces on its west bank and Russian on its east and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) are all sensitive Russian-controlled sites along the river frontier which has been touted as a potential location for Kyiv's planned spring-summer counteroffensive The Nova Kakhovka dam collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning following several months of maintenance issues whose forces it has previously accused of mining the structure in preparation for its destruction Moscow-installed occupation authorities had accused Ukrainian forces of multiple attacks on the dam though did not initially say it had collapsed entirely Its collapse poses problems for both sides Hundreds of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as floodwaters surge through downstream areas Military positions on both banks are being flooded as are vital supply routes Any potential Ukrainian attack across the Dnieper is now effectively "impossible," Andriy Zagorodnyuk—a former defense minister of Ukraine now acting as an adviser to the country's Defense Ministry—told Newsweek the cooling system of which is reliant on the Kakhovka Reservoir the water level of which is now rapidly falling A meltdown there could create a nuclear disaster spreading across Ukraine International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi has said there is "no immediate risk" to the safety of the plant though stressed that a "prolonged absence of cooling water" available could pose a danger The emptying reservoir also means trouble for the North Crimean Canal which runs 250 miles to the south and east to supply the Russian-occupied peninsula with fresh water the Kremlin-installed head of the occupied Kherson region has already raised the alarm over the canal "The only threat [is] that we will have problems with the supply of water to Crimea," the official said The Crimean occupation authority said in a statement that there is "no threat of the North Crimean Canal losing water," the state-run Tass news agency reported occupation authority head Sergey Aksyonov said there is a risk that the canal's water level will fall though the peninsula's reservoirs currently have sufficient water volume The canal has been a problem for Moscow since its "little green men" seized the Crimean peninsula in 2014 as the shockwaves of Ukraine's pro-Western Euromaidan revolution still reverberated around the country and the wider region the canal provided some 85 percent of Crimea's water The rest was used for industry and public consumption Invading Russian troops took control of the canal on the first day of the full-scale invasion last year with the offensive cohort driving northwards from Crimea enjoying more success than their counterparts in the north and east of the country Moscow's troops blew up the dam put in place after Crimea's annexation an agriculture historian from the Khortytsia National Academy in Zaporizhzhia told NPR last summer that the quick return of water to Crimea "shows us the importance of that issue." Olenenko added: "Putin and the government promised to the Crimean people that they would solve the water problem in Crimea." Blocking the canal and choking Crimea's water supply was "one of the few things they had available that they could actually do," James Rogers the co-founder of the United Kingdom-based Council on Geostrategy think tank told Newsweek of the post-uprising Ukrainian administration whose armed forces had been proven unable to prevent the Kremlin's lightning annexation More than a year after the canal was reopened "This is indicative of the fact that the Russians have not seized any further territory that the conflict appears to have kind of ground to a halt," Rogers said Zagorodnyuk said the Kremlin's military concerns are now taking priority over Crimea "I don't think they care about it now," he said Newsweek reached out to the Russian Foreign Ministry via email for comment Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsletters in your inbox See all The Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine collapsed early Tuesday forcing more than 1,400 people to flee their homes and threatening vital water supplies as flooding inundated the region Kyiv and Moscow have traded accusations over the Russian-occupied dam's destruction without providing concrete proof that the other is culpable It is not yet clear whether the dam was deliberately attacked or whether the breach was the result of structural failure Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation as "an environmental bomb of mass destruction," as concerns turned to the dangers to wildlife settlements and water supplies from the floodwaters and possible contamination from industrial chemicals and oil leaking from the hydropower plant into the Dnipro River The critical dam is the largest reservoir in Ukraine in terms of volume It's the last of the cascade of six Soviet-era dams on the Dnipro River a major waterway running through southeastern Ukraine There are multiple towns and cities downstream a city of some 300,000 people before Moscow's invasion of its neighbor '+n.escapeExpression("function"==typeof(o=null!=(o=r(e,"eyebrowText")||(null!=l?r(l,"eyebrowText"):l))?o:n.hooks.helperMissing)?o.call(null!=l?l:n.nullContext||{},{name:"eyebrowText",hash:{},data:t,loc:{start:{line:28,column:63},end:{line:28,column:78}}}):o)+" \n '+(null!=(o=c(e,"if").call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2PreText"):l,{name:"if",hash:{},fn:n.program(32,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:63,column:20},end:{line:63,column:61}}}))?o:"")+"\n"+(null!=(o=(c(e,"ifAll")||l&&c(l,"ifAll")||n.hooks.helperMissing).call(r,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Text"):l,null!=l?c(l,"cta2Link"):l,{name:"ifAll",hash:{},fn:n.program(34,t,0),inverse:n.noop,data:t,loc:{start:{line:64,column:20},end:{line:70,column:30}}}))?o:"")+" The evidence suggests Russia destroyed the vast environmental and potentially nuclear catastrophe must begin amid a brutal war Four-and-a-half days after Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam burst, the longer-term scale of the flooding disaster is gradually becoming apparent says she had no choice but to quit her apartment in Kherson even though it was too high up to be flooded “It’s not just that we don’t have any water We have also got used to not having those during the Russian occupation Now she plans to stay in Mykolaiv with relatives with the state having given her about 10,000 hryvnia (£215) in support Vasyl Chornyi gets off an evacuation carriage from Kherson while the train is joined with another and lights a cigarette The Inhulets river flooded part of his village and while his house wasn’t directly affected he too was leaving because “we are fearing a pandemic” Vasyl Chornyi prepares to board an evacuation train at Mykolaiv train station He says he fears disease spreading due to the flooding disaster Photograph: Ed Ram/The Guardian“The cemetery is drowned the sewers have been drowned,” Chornyi says even claiming to have seen coffins floating downstream and acknowledges that while the Russian occupation between March and November did not force him out Whole houses are being washed into the Black Sea On Friday an intact roof ended up on a beach in Odesa Locals in the city have been told not to try to clean up the rubbish reeds and other waterborne detritus amid concern that landmines leaves the clean-up to the already stretched state emergency services Locals reported hearing a deafening explosion with the “sky turning to white” in the small hours Subsequent seismic analysis by Norsar of Norway while US media report that spy satellites also detected a blast around that time Experts add that it would have been very much harder to destroy the dam from outside One explanation is that it was an instinctive defensive response to the threat of an amphibious attack in Kherson oblast across the Dnipro a fearful reaction to the possibility of a surprise strike by Kyiv across the country’s central Certainly, a marine assault is now more difficult for Ukraine and the building of a pontoon bridge across the widened Dnipro is all but impossible But if there was an attempt to emulate Stalin’s destruction of the larger Zaporizhzhia dam in the face of the advancing German army in 1941 the consequences of Tuesday’s events would be borne largely by civilians A group of Russian anti-war groups reported that 1,842 residents in and around the flooded town of Oleshky are “currently not allowed to leave by the Russian military” of which 338 are in need of urgent assistance with water and food supplies running dangerously short The Red Cross has been prevented from reaching the area prompting the groups to appeal on Saturday to the US government to use “diplomatic means” to ease the crisis Volunteers rescue a woman and her dogs from an apartment block in central Kherson Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianNevertheless it was the Russians who held the hydroelectric station perched on the top of the dam Under the occupation Nova Kakhovka had long since stopped generating power and had been turned into a garrison from which the Russians could fend off any attempt by Ukrainian forces to approach the dam from the right bank There are other signs that Russia saw the dam as a chip in a military game The Russian occupiers had allowed water levels in the Kakhovka reservoir behind the dam to build up to a 30-year high filling the reservoir with more than 18m cubic metres of water Also concerned was the Ukrainian power company that used to run the hydro plant before it was overrun the Ukrainian workers at the station spotted that the Russians brought a lot of explosive material inside,” said Ihor Syrota the Ukrainian workers were sent away and it became a military headquarters for the Russians.” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told an online meeting with environmental activists on Thursday: “We warned the world about the mining of the dam and other facilities It was obvious that Russia had an intent to cause disaster.” Aid workers and volunteers distribute aid to people displaced by flooding before boarding an evacuation train at Mykolaiv train station on Friday Photograph: Ed Ram/The GuardianAnother possibility has been raised by the publication by the Ukrainian security service on Friday of a recording of what it claimed was an intercepted conversation between two Russian soldiers in which one reveals to the other that it was a sabotage unit from their own side that set off the explosion and that the resulting devastation had been far greater than intended The authenticity of the call is unverified and probably unverifiable it adds weight to the screw-up version of history that the intention had been to wash Ukrainian forces off the river islands which made up the no man’s land between the two banks and the saboteurs got their calculations wrong While the immediate attention in the past week has been on the human and environmental tragedy unfolding downstream an even greater catastrophe may be looming upstream in the coming months and years Read moreThat has now been put on cold shutdown The water needs of the plant are far less than when it was functioning there is a sizeable cooling pond for emergencies The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) estimates that it contains enough water to keep cooling operations going for several months Ukrainian officials from the Ukrainian nuclear energy corporation it emerged last week that studies commissioned by Energoatom after the Fukushima nuclear plant disaster in 2011 found that without the counteracting force of the waters of the Kakhovka reservoir on the other side the dyke around the cooling pond could burst from the pressure of the water inside and reassured Ukrainians there were other sources of water in an emergency to prevent a meltdown of the radioactive fuel at the plant “These are mobile pumping units that can be deployed if necessary and the last frontier is the use of underground drinking water wells,” Kotin said on Friday was that of deliberate sabotage by the plant’s Russian occupiers If the Russians did indeed blow up the Kakhovka dam it raises fears they could also blow up the Zaporizhzhia plant regardless of the consequences that would almost certainly spill onto Russian territory the waters have hardly receded from their peak – and the situation is complicated by the fact that Russian shelling and Ukrainian retaliation resumed Two rescuers were wounded in the Ukrainian-held city on Saturday while the security situation was too serious for another group to brief the Observer on their latest emergency efforts and drone footage shows that former shoreline settlements such as Hola Prystan are also inundated A humanitarian disaster on the Russian-held left bank “would undoubtedly heighten the risk” of an outbreak of cholera or other intestinal infections a professor in medicine at the University of East Anglia and adviser to the World Health Organization the destruction of the Kakhovka dam raises the already enormous stakes riding on the Ukrainian counter-offensive Already the challenge facing Ukrainian troops as they try to storm well-prepared Russian defensive lines was daunting and pictures began to circulate on social media of the first losses of western armour German Leopard tanks and US-made Bradley fighting vehicles no other western-style military can conduct sustained combined arms operations at scale So Ukrainian forces are attempting to do something at the tactical level that no other European Nato member is currently capable of,” Franz-Stefan Gady a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies But now the flooding has deepened the crisis in Ukraine The dramatic moments in the small hours of Tuesday morning mean the country is no longer just fighting a war but also grappling what is almost certain to have been a human-made and entirely unnecessary environmental and humanitarian catastrophe This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media A Russian-controlled dam near the frontline that supplies southern Ukraine and annexed Crimea with drinking water was significantly damaged early Tuesday flooding the area and potentially threatening the nearby nuclear power plant The damage to the Kakhovka dam unleashed a torrent of water that flooded a small city and two dozen villages Both Russia and Ukraine blame each other for the attack Here's what we know about the incident and its wider consequences for the war: The 3.3-kilometer-long dam on the Dnipro River was captured by Russian forces at the beginning of their February 2022 invasion The dam held back a massive reservoir that is a strategic water source for southern Ukraine's Kherson region and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula and flooding could potentially block Ukrainian forces seeking to regain lost territory The damage has increased fears of a nuclear incident as the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant — Europe's largest nuclear plant — is located nearby The flooding could also have implications for Ukrainian forces' anticipated counteroffensive to reclaim territories captured by Russia during its 15-month invasion Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has blamed Russia for the dam collapse and summoned an emergency national security council session "The world must react," he said on social media adding that Russia had carried out "an internal explosion of the structures" of the plant at 2:50 a.m "This is just one Russian act of terrorism This is just one Russian war crime," he added accusing Russia of committing an act of "ecocide." "Russia must leave Ukrainian land and must be held fully accountable for its terror." Ukraine's hydroelectricity operator said that the power station linked to the Kakhovka dam had also been "completely destroyed."  The hydraulic structure is being washed away," Ihor Syrota The Kremlin meanwhile accused Ukraine of “deliberate sabotage,” claiming that Ukrainian forces damaged the dam after allegedly suffering early losses in their counteroffensive launched 48 hours ago Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also warned that the damage could have “very serious consequences for tens of thousands of residents environmental consequences and consequences of a different nature that are yet to be established.” “The Kyiv regime should bear all the responsibility for all the consequences,” Peskov told reporters The Kherson region's Russian-installed leader Vladimir Saldo said "everything is fine" in Nova Kakhovka “People are calmly moving at the streets…gas stations are working, some shops are working, even enterprises are working,” Saldo said in a video with flooded streets seen directly behind him News of the damage came after Russia claimed Ukraine had started its long-awaited counteroffensive Ukraine said that Russia's goal was to "create obstacles" for Kyiv's offensive to retake territory from Moscow's forces.  Kyiv previously accused Moscow of mining the dam as combat raged nearby in October during the last major offensive by Ukrainian forces seeking to regain lost territory military bloggers were divided over the flooding's implications for Ukrainian forces' anticipated counteroffensive to reclaim territories captured by Russia during its 15-month invasion Some military and OSINT bloggers also questioned whether the breach was caused by a deliberate attack saying that the collapse could be the result of previous shelling.  “It makes no sense for either side to undermine the dam,” said Ruslan Leviev the founder of the Conflict Intelligence Team which investigates the Russian military which controls the left bank of the Dnipro River said over 22,000 residents in 14 areas were in potential flood zones but there was no risk of flooding for major population centers About 16,000 people are in a critical flood zone the Russian-installed mayor of the town of Nova Kakhovka where the dam is located said residents of "around 300 homes" had been evacuated Ukraine warned of a potential "ecocide" after 150 tons of engine oil spilled into the river as a result of the attack the dam collapse raised fears of a nuclear incident as the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant relies on the Kakhovka reservoir for its cooling system.  The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said its experts were "closely monitoring the situation" but that there was "no immediate nuclear safety risk at the plant." The Russian-installed director of the plant echoed the UN agency and said that "at the moment there is no security threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant." "The water level in the cooling pond has not changed," he said adding that the "situation was controlled by personnel." Chernichuk said the water cooling system was not in direct contact with the outside environment and could be refilled from several alternative sources Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom however said the water level of the Kakhovka reservoir was "rapidly decreasing which is an additional threat to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant." It said it was "monitoring the situation" and that the cooling plant's current pond water level was "sufficient for the power plant's needs." On 6 June 2023 Russia destroyed the Kakhovka Reservoir on the Dnipro River in Ukraine causing an environmental disaster and a humanitarian crisis The detonation of the dam and flooding of the Lower Dnipro Basin led to the loss of 30% of Ukraine’s freshwater reserves leaving 6 million people without drinking water The ecological consequences are also severe: fertile soils have been lost and rare species of flora and fauna have disappeared With support from CIUS through the Ihor Roman Bukowsky Sustainable Development Endowment Fund at the University of Alberta a comprehensive study of the environmental impact was undertaken by Dr Vitalii Pichura of the Kherson State Agricultural University along with colleagues Larisa Potravka and Pavlo Kutishchev and in collaboration with Oleksandr Baginskyi of the Nova Kakhovka Military Administration documents the unfolding environmental disaster.The team’s findings are staggering Contamination has struck the once-lush Dnipro-Buh estuary system and vast waters of the Black Sea The hydrological balance of the Lower Dnipro has deteriorated sharply and an 8–12-metre loss in groundwater levels The impact has rippled through the surrounding landscape adjacent land mass temperatures rose by 1.0 °C leaving 78.6% of the Khortytsia National Reserve’s floodplains degraded with 2.5 million hectares of soil left vulnerable to erosion and degradation—a dire consequence for Ukraine’s agricultural heartland.These results underscore an environmental disaster with far-reaching repercussions Restoring the affected areas and enabling the return of displaced populations will require extensive scientific and socio-economic strategies and resources The resilience of Ukrainians will be crucial in developing sustainable solutions for the future They must demand justice and international support for Ukraine’s recovery The study findings have been shared via social networks The world must recognize the dire situation and support efforts to rehabilitate this critical region as they continue their work Together with Larisa Potravka and Oleksandr Baginskyi the team has recorded the impact of the destruction of the dam and have begun extensive work on substantiating the scenarios for the restoration of the Kakhovka Reservoir They continue to monitor the state of the Lower Dnipro  Read the PDF Report here  cius@ualberta.ca  7804922972 labs and research stations are primarily located on the territory of the Néhiyaw (Cree) Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Anishinaabe (Ojibway/Saulteaux) lands that are now known as part of Treaties 6 The University of Alberta respects the sovereignty knowledge systems and cultures of all First Nations About 16,000 people could be affected and water will reach ‘critical level’ in hours the truth about ‘local’ food in US supermarkets The Ukrainian government has accused Russia of blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River and called for people living downstream to evacuate in the face of catastrophic flooding As aerial footage circulated on social media, showing most of the dam wall washed away and a massive surge of water heading downstream, the army’s southern operational command put up a Facebook post accusing “Russian occupation troops” of blowing up the hydroelectric dam said that about 16,000 people were in the “critical zone” on the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the river He said people were being evacuated for districts upstream of Kherson city and would be taken to bus to the city and then by train to Mykolaiv The disaster happened on the second day of Ukrainian offensive operations likely to mark the early stages of a mass counteroffensive It could affect any Ukrainian plans for an amphibious assault across the river How big is the dam? The dam traverses Ukraine’s enormous Dnipro River, holding back a huge reservoir of water. The dam is 30 metres tall and hundreds of metres wide “Those people have no idea – the history and foulness of that,” Dennis Helms said of the presence of neo-Nazis and antisemitism in the US “There can be nothing that’s worse … I can’t say enough bad about that.” Helms’s remarks came in an interview with the Guardian as the US prepared to observe Tuesday’s 79th anniversary of D-day when allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy to help liberate north-west Europe from Nazi Germany’s control The military campaign started by that invasion culminated in Germany’s surrender on 8 May 1945 a little more than a week after the suicide of Hitler who oversaw the murders of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust Dennis said it was disturbing that Hitler’s regime still found such high-profile support in a country that his father spent his life serving and which helped bring Hitler’s downfall Though Donald Trump has condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis Dennis noted how proponents of both have generally supported the former president who is widely considered the frontrunner for the 2024 White House nomination He said he imagines his father “just rotates in his grave” in Arlington National Cemetery most times that Trump speaks “He lies all the time – he cheats,” Dennis said of Trump “I think that he is a guy who has none of the values that my father did.” Pence filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission but will formally launch his bid for the Republican nomination with a video and event in Des Moines The former congressman and Indiana governor A Pence run has long been expected but he has not registered significantly in polling generally contesting third place with the former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley Other declared candidates include the South Carolina senator Tim Scott the former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy A wolverine was spotted three times last month in the eastern Sierra Nevada, a rare occurrence for an animal that’s only been seen one other time in California over the last 100 years, state wildlife officials said they have been essentially extinct from the state since the 1920s Lawyers for Donald Trump met with top US justice department officials yesterday to complain about perceived misconduct in the criminal investigation into the former US president’s handling of national security materials and obstruction, according to two people familiar with the matter Iran has claimed it has created a hypersonic missile capable of travelling at 15 times the speed of sound Iran’s state television reported that the missile – called Fattah or “Conqueror” in Farsi – had a range of up to 870 miles (1,400km) California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, on Monday branded his rightwing Republican Florida counterpart, Ron DeSantis, a “small, pathetic man”, and appeared to threaten kidnapping charges after a group of migrants was dumped at a Sacramento church China has begun digging its deepest borehole in an effort to study areas of the planet deep beneath the surface The drilling of the borehole began on Monday in a desert in the Tarim basin in China’s north-western region of Xinjiang according to the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency Home Depot is now truly selling homes – albeit tiny ones. Photograph: Charles Krupa/APHome Depot has quietly entered the real estate market. The US home improvement store giant appeared to debut its new tiny home or “getaway pad” and it’s garnering traction on social media as a possible solution to unaffordable housing and property damage caused by the climate crisis The news comes in the wake of an affordable housing crisis plaguing the country with skyrocketing rent prices and mortgage interest rates the pad can be delivered and assembled as a standalone extension to an existing house or as a primary residence for those for whom home ownership is out of reach nearly two-thirds of whom perceive local food to be more environmentally friendly experts suggest it may not always mean what you think who led grocery merchandising for Whole Foods from 2009 to 2016 would be paid to historically low-polluting developing countries that must transition away from fossil fuels despite not having yet used their “fair share” of the global carbon budget The compensation system is based on the idea that the atmosphere is a commons a natural resource for everyone which has not been used equitably It is the first scheme where wealthy countries historically responsible for excessive or unjust greenhouse emissions including the UK are held liable to compensate countries which have contributed the least to global heating “In those moments where you just want to type a ducking word The iPhone autocorrect feature has always had its quirks at times taking a misspelled word and substituting it with what it deems a logical option but which ends up changing the meaning of a particular phrase or sentence Such occurrences generally produce follow-up texts along the lines of “damn autocorrect!” But the “ducking” substitution is a longstanding source of mirth or frustration depending on how many times one has had to rewrite their texts or scream at their device Cnet said iOS 17 is expected to be available as a public beta in July with the general release to come out in September First Thing is delivered to thousands of inboxes every weekday. If you’re not already signed up, subscribe now If you have any questions or comments about any of our newsletters please email newsletters@theguardian.com We don’t flood you with panic-inducing headlines or race to be first We focus on being useful to you — breaking down the news in ways that inform We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today by Jen Kirby LinkA screen grab from a video shows the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant after a blast occurred at the plant, which is in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine’s Kherson, on June 6, 2023. The explosion unleashed floodwaters across the war zone. Zelenskyy Social Media Account Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty ImagesJen Kirby is a senior foreign and national security reporter at Vox where she covers global instability.A large dam on the Dnipro River leading to major flooding and putting thousands at risk of another catastrophe along the war’s front lines On Thursday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Kherson region, the area most affected by flooding from the apparent explosion at the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power plant At least 2,000 people have evacuated so far though potentially thousands more remain at-risk in both Ukrainian and Russian-controlled territories both Ukraine and Russia are accusing the other of attacking the Nova Kakhovka dam which is about 20 miles from the strategic city of Kherson Ukraine has continued to blame Russian “terrorists” for the explosion. “This is just one Russian act of terrorism,” Zelenskyy wrote Tuesday on Telegram this dam tragedy is a direct result of Russia’s 2022 invasion The dam is also right along the front lines of the war and had faced shelling and damage during the past year the Dnipro is essentially the dividing line between Ukrainian and Russian forces co-founder and senior fellow at the Pacific Institute in California “The Nova Kakhovka dam is one of the largest dams in Europe.” and videos began surfacing of water rushing from the dam The flooding immediately put communities downriver at risk and Ukrainian authorities launched evacuation operations In the immediate aftermath of the destruction, Ukrainian officials warned about 40,000 people along the banks of the Dnipro might need to evacuate — but that population is split between about 17,000 in Ukrainian-controlled territory and another 25,000 or so in the Russian-occupied side of the river Russian officials initially downplayed the emergency a bit, though evacuations have reportedly started in some Russian-controlled towns. Vladimir Saldo, the Russia-appointed governor of the Kherson region, said on Telegram that the dam breach “will not greatly affect the situation in the Kherson region Even a large-scale evacuation of people will not be required.” Ukrainian officials have also accused Russia of shelling flood-affected areas. Police said three people were wounded Thursday amid evacuations Water was quickly rushing out of the reservoir, and the peak of the flooding was expected Wednesday, around noon local time, according to officials. About 230 square miles of the region was under water the dam destruction poses risks to the environment and energy infrastructure — all in different and complex ways The area near the Dnipro River is heavily mined, and flood waters could dislodge those explosives. Already there are reports of contamination of industrial chemicals in the Dnipro River they rely on the water for irrigation purposes drinking water,” said Maksym Chepeliev senior research economist at the Center for Global Trade Analysis at Purdue University Ukrhydroenergo, the Ukrainian state-owned operator of Ukraine’s hydroelectric plants, said that the machine hall inside the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was completely destroyed the threat to Ukraine’s power grid and electricity supply is pretty contained Since the plant was seized by Russian forces in the early days of the war it had not currently been supplying electricity to territory controlled by Ukraine leading researcher officer in the Department of Energy Sector Development and Forecasting at the Institute for Economics and Forecasting of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and could provide additional sources of water (The power plant is also not at risk of flooding.) The Zaporizhzhia plant has remained a perpetual possible catastrophe throughout the war “The fact that things are under control now is great but the situation is very volatile there [at the Zaphorizhia nuclear power plant] And it’s just something that is an additional thing for us to worry about,” Gleick said It could affect irrigation levels for wheat and watermelon crops in the region threatening thousands of acres of farmland It will also force the evacuation of thousands who survived a year and a half of artillery shelling This flooding would be a disaster at any time one more humanitarian crisis piled on top of all the others and another years-long rebuilding project Ukraine must take on “It’s not necessarily easy to mobilize during peacetime,” said Nickolai Denisov deputy director of the Geneva-based Zoï Environment Network and it definitely distracts resources from other tasks.” These kinds of disasters are omnipresent in war, but have become something of a feature of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Moscow has systematically targeted Ukrainian infrastructure, and in this case, they had full access to the dam and its facilities. Ukraine has engaged in sabotage efforts against Russian infrastructure but usually on Russian soil or on strategic targets “All things considered, one must naturally assume that this was an aggression perpetrated by the Russian side in order to stop Ukraine’s offensive aimed at liberating its own land,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Tuesday The timing of this likely explosion is impossible to ignore Ukraine has been planning a counteroffensive it now seems as if Kyiv is gearing up for that major assault This isn’t that close to the Nova Kakhovka dam, but many Ukraine observers have long pointed to areas in the south as a possible staging point for any operation because it would allow Ukraine to cut off the “land bridge” Russia has built from occupied territories to Crimea. The area now flooded out by the dam breach could have been one attack point, and now it definitely cannot be. But it probably wasn’t the most likely one, either. Russia was pretty well dug in on its side of the Dnipro, and crossing a river is not exactly an easy operation in the best of times. Ukraine’s forces are likely limited in their ability to conduct an operation like that. Which is also why, if Russia is responsible, this isn’t a hugely strategic move. The flood waters could wash away some of Russia’s fortifications in the Kherson region. And while it may consume Ukrainian resources and attention, it could do the same for Russia, which controls areas that will be affected by this catastrophe. “The motivations for both sides are lacking,” said Emil Kastehelmi, an open source intelligence and military analyst who has been following Russia’s war in Ukraine. But, Kastehelmi pointed out, that doesn’t always matter, especially when it comes to Moscow’s motivations. “As we have seen, they can make huge decisions that might not be beneficial to them. A good example is this whole war that they are waging.” Update, June 8, 11:30 am: This article, originally published June 6, has been updated to include more information about the ongoing fallout from the destruction and President Zelenskyy’s visit to the region. Understand the world with a daily explainer plus the most compelling stories of the day, compiled by news editor Sean Collins. Trump’s tariffs might actually be good for Ukraine. What a violent week in Ukraine and Gaza tells us about Trump-style diplomacy. What did (and didn’t) just happen with the war in Ukraine. Does anyone still believe the US would go to war to defend Europe? European countries are about to spend a lot more on defense. It may not be enough. Republicans in Washington are now talking more like their voters about Ukraine. 2023 7:17 AM EDT | Originally published: June 6 2023 9:01 AM EDTThe collapse of a huge dam in a Russian-occupied region of southern Ukraine has triggered flooding with both Russia and Ukraine blaming each other for its strategic destruction called the explosion a “terrorist act.” At present it is unclear which nation is responsible or what either side would serve to gain from damaging the dam which is said to have already been in a state of disrepair Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has coordinated an urgent meeting of the National Security Council in response to Tuesday’s attack. In October, Zelensky urged Western allies to warn Russia not to attack the dam, noting that it would cause “a large-scale disaster.” At the time the leader suspected Russian forces had planted explosives in the dam The dam is 30 meters (98 ft.) in height and 3.2km (2 mi.) in width containing a reservoir of around 18 cubic kilometers (4.3 cubic mi.) of water about the same as the Great Salt Lake in Utah there are growing concerns that the sheer volume of water will severely damage nearby homes and low lying areas An overview of Nova Khakovka dam in south Ukraine on June 5.Maxar Technologies/AFP/Getty ImagesSo far, evacuations have been ordered from at least 80 towns and villages, the Associated Press reported on Wednesday Some 22,000 people live in areas at risk of flooding in Russian-controlled territory Nearly 12,000 people in Kherson are without electricity as a result of flooding Older people and individuals with disabilities are thought to be particularly at risk from the flooding “It’s important to mention the demographics of the people being affected,” says Irina Kuznetsova a professor at the University of Birmingham whose research focuses on forced displacement and migration She says that many of the people living in the region are people who found it too difficult to leave when the war had just broken out putting them in a very vulnerable situation “The intersection of age and disabilities with displacement is very dangerous.” Polluted water supplies and wider environmental consequences are also anticipated as a result of the incident and were rising by 2 to 3 inches every half-hour in low-lying areas Water from the dam’s reserve also supplies the Crimean peninsula—which Russia illegally annexed in 2014—and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant raising concerns about safety and energy supply The dam also helps power the local hydroelectric plant in Kakhovka The IAEA’s director Rafael Mariano Grossi also said that there were additional water sources that officials could turn to including a large cooling pond near the nuclear site that is above the height of the reservoir The agency is hopeful that this pond may be able to cool reactors and diesel generators for several months Grossi has said that he will travel to the Zaporizhzhia plant next week Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom echoed the IAEA’s assessment via Telegram saying that the dam attack “could have negative consequences” for Zaporizhzhia but that the situation is “controllable.” The nuclear plant is capable of producing up to 6,000 megawatts of electricity there is a chance that nuclear waste from the Chernobyl disaster could be disturbed by the flooding professor at Oxford University who studies the urban development of post-Soviet countries “There is potential that those deep reservoirs in the Dnipro River have quite a bit of nuclear waste,” Mykhnenko told TIME “All those deposits could be moved around through wind and dust.” The destruction of the dam has negative consequences for both Russia and Ukraine, with both countries racing to conduct evacuations of nearby residents. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Zelensky, has claimed that the destruction of the dam primarily benefits Russia, according to the Financial Times “The purpose is obvious: to create insurmountable obstacles in the way of the advancing Ukrainian armed forces,” said Podolyak a retired American scientist who has been studying the dam since the war began told the Associated Press that Russia has a history of attacking dams But the dam’s destruction also poses issues for Russia since the flooding will impact Russia’s defense forces in Kherson on the east of the Dnipro river though the military has not officially revealed any information about such a plan Breaking this land bridge would make it much more difficult for Russia to provide supplies and coordinate plans with captured Ukrainian territories The flooding in the region would make that plan much more difficult to execute it denies any ability for us to cross the river and move equipment in that area that’s why most likely Russia did it particularly now,” Andriy Zagorodnyuk some experts believe that the dam’s destruction won’t impact Ukraine’s plans significantly “There is not a lot of evidence that Ukraine was actually planning to cross the Dnipro because that would require a significant amount of ships and equipment,” Mykhnenko tells TIME “So don’t think it will really significantly affect the Ukrainian offensive operations.” even if the dam’s destruction has little impact on Ukraine’s tactical plans Mykhnenko expects the humanitarian impact to be severe “The river was providing drinking water to a lot of people… and that will obviously lead to drought and massive damage to farming in those areas which are quite fertile for grain production,” Mykhnenko says “I think we’ll probably have more damage than we expect from this disaster.” Write to Armani Syed at armani.syed@time.com The suffering inflicted on communities following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam comes on top of months of repeated shelling and grinding conflict The disaster is far from over and communities will need support in the weeks and months to come The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has teams on the ground in Kherson and Novovoronsovka today Our immediate focus is to make sure that people in Kherson and surrounding areas have clean drinking water pumps and repair kits to Kherson and the affected areas as well as essential food and medical items We are also assessing needs in local hospitals and a team of health mental health and water specialists is on their way to Novovoronsovka We are also providing support to help communities navigate the renewed risk of landmines and unexploded ordnance created by the floodwaters This includes technical support to emergency services as well as markers to signal that an area is contaminated with mines We are ready to respond on both sides of the river notably from operational bases in Odesa and Donetsk and we have reiterated our offer of emergency support to the authorities for people affected by the floods as well as longer-term help to improve access to clean water We are continuing to offer our support and request to bring critical aid to areas where we do not currently have the necessary authorization to operate Jennifer Sparks, ICRC Geneva (English), jsparks@icrc.org, +41 79 217 3200  Galina Balzamova, ICRC Moscow (English, Russian), gbalzamova@icrc.org Oleksandr Vlasenko, ICRC Kyiv (English, Ukrainian), ovlasenko@icrc.org reviews and other resources dedicated to humanitarian impact Terms and conditions - ICRC ©2025 - All right reserved explosions ruptured the Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric station unleashing a reservoir containing several billion gallons of water and flooding cities and towns along the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine The destruction of the Soviet-designed dam appears to have been orchestrated by Russian forces likely in an effort to deny Ukrainian troops access to territory nearby as their long-awaited counteroffensive kicked off But the torrent of water flowing down the Dnieper toward the important city of Kherson has reshaped the surrounding waterways and forced the Russian military to pull back from certain places and fewer Russian troops could benefit Ukraine the destruction of the dam could be a game-changer for Ukraine's special-operations forces The rapid emptying of the reservoir has revealed the remnants of past battles, including a human skull that appeared to be wearing a World War II-era German helmet there are now tens of thousands of hectares of new maritime battlespace The Russian military has already had to relocate troops from the area in response to Ukrainian attacks elsewhere and patrolling and protecting the new coastline will create another challenge for Russian forces — and a potential opening for Ukraine New and larger waterways will make it easier for Ukrainian special operators to move men and equipment around by boat Ukrainian commandos operating from around Kherson could use drones and missiles to threaten Russian communications and supply lines to Crimea Ukrainian troops in the area could also use shoulder-fired missiles to threaten Russian aircraft flying to and from Crimea potentially forcing them to use longer routes instead "As Russia draws significant sustainment from Crimea disrupting lines of communications with increased special operations in southern Kherson could certainly support the Ukrainian counteroffensive," Heck and Griffiths write Ukrainian special operators have been very active in Kyiv's ongoing counteroffensive in the Donbas region and southern Ukraine clearing a Russian trench and killing several Russian troops during fighting in southern Ukraine Ukrainian special operators have been using one-way attack drones to disrupt and degrade Russian forces by destroying heavy weapons But Ukrainian commandos could soon find themselves supporting an amphibious operation in southern Ukraine Ukrainian military leaders have certainly thought about a major amphibious operation across the Dnieper River Recent security assistance shows that Ukraine's NATO partners have had similar thoughts In March, the White House approved a package of military aid that included armored vehicle-launched bridges heavy-duty systems that travel with armored columns and allow them to cross rivers What makes the armored vehicle-launched bridges particularly useful is their ability to disengage and redeploy across another obstacle and reusable bridges that can support Ukraine's new M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Challenger 2 and Leopard 2 tanks Should the Ukrainian military go ahead with an amphibious operation in Kherson or Crimea naval commandos will play a key role in scouting They could also be used to distract Russian forces by launching diversionary raids elsewhere on the battlefield The Ukrainian counteroffensive is still in the early stages but judging from what has already been seen special-operations forces will be a vital part of Kyiv's push to liberate its land and people Stavros Atlamazoglou is a defense journalist specializing in special operations a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ) He is working toward a master's degree in strategy and cybersecurity at Johns Hopkins' School of Advanced International Studies highly relevant issue briefs and reports that break new ground with a focus on advancing debates by integrating foundational research and analysis with concrete policy solutions the Atlantic Council’s experts have you covered—delivering their sharpest rapid insight and forward-looking analysis direct to your inbox New Atlanticist is where top experts and policymakers at the Atlantic Council and beyond offer exclusive insight on the most pressing global challenges—and the United States’ role in addressing them alongside its allies and partners A weekly column by Atlantic Council President and CEO Frederick Kempe Inflection Points focuses on the global challenges facing the United States and how to best address them UkraineAlert is a comprehensive online publication that provides regular news and analysis on developments in Ukraine’s politics UkraineAlert sources analysis and commentary from a wide-array of thought-leaders and activists from Ukraine and the global community MENASource offers the latest news from across the Middle East and independent analysis from fellows and staff Econographics provides an in-depth look at trends in the global economy utilizing state-of-the-art data visualization tools The blowing up of the Kakhovka dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine in the early hours of June 6 has produced a range of catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences The resultant draining of the Kakhovka reservoir also creates significant risks for the nearby Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is not believed to be in any immediate danger but rapidly dropping water levels in the reservoir will make it difficult to access the water necessary to cool the plant’s six reactors Nuclear power plants work by splitting atoms to create tremendous heat which turns turbines to generate electricity The heat created is so extreme that advanced cooling systems are required to keep temperature levels under control and prevent a meltdown The Fukushima disaster was the result of a cooling system failure when a tsunami caused by a major earthquake disabled the Japanese nuclear power plant’s cooling system and three reactors melted down from their own heat the 1986 Chornobyl disaster in Soviet Ukraine was due to human error that caused the graphite reactor cores to burn The Zaporizhzhia plant features VVER-1000 pressurized light water reactors This means that a Chornobyl-style meltdown is not possible as there is no graphite to burn but the risk of a cooling system failure is a grave concern The plant has been carefully monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) since it was first captured by Russian troops in March 2022 during the early weeks of the full-scale Russian invasion Russia has repeatedly struck the transmission lines that power the plant’s cooling systems necessitating the use of back-up generators to keep the cooling system operational Despite regular alarms over the close proximity of combat operations and the deployment of Russian troops at the plant the risk of a nuclear disaster has been seen as present but never pressing due to numerous residual safety features the plant can run on its own power for short periods of time if power grid access and generators simultaneously fail The Kakhovka dam collapse has now increased the risk of disaster the plant needs large quantities of water to run its cooling system decades after the Kakhovka dam was constructed and features a design that relies on reservoir water for its cooling system And although the plant’s six reactors have been turned off for more than eight months to reduce the likelihood of wartime nuclear accidents it will still be a decade before the reactor fuel rods are cool enough to be moved into dry storage Water levels in the reservoir have plummeted since the blast on Tuesday morning nobody can say with any certainty how far the water levels will eventually drop before leveling out The IAEA commented on June 7 that if water levels fall below 12.7 meters the lowest level at which water can be pumped upstream to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant there are alternative options that can be used to source cooling system water With the Kakhovka dam beyond repair and no clear way to stop it hemorrhaging water from the reservoir it seems likely that external water sources will be necessary At present, IAEA officials say there is “no immediate risk” to the plant while officials from Ukraine’s nuclear operator Energoatom have stated that water supplies stored close to the facility are sufficient for the next few months others have noted that summer heat could speed evaporation and exhaust existing reserves far sooner which was built to withstand a nuclear attack would be extremely difficult to destroy via external bombardment In addition to the heightened risk to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant the destruction of the dam has also unleashed an ecological disaster throughout the region Tens of thousands of local residents whose homes have been flooded are in urgent need of care and shelter Significant quantities of oil and chemicals have poured into the Dnipro River and must be contained These are the most immediate challenges facing the Ukrainian authorities The risks posed to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant by the loss of access to reservoir water must also be addressed without delay before the situation becomes critical the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam is also fueling speculation over whether Russia may be prepared to adopt similarly drastic measures at the Zaporizhzhia plant itself the international community must send a clear message to Moscow that it will be held accountable for any further attempts to intimidate the world with the threat of nuclear disaster Suriya Jayanti is a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive is an important moment in the war with Russia but it is critical to maintain a sense of perspective and underline the need for long-term Western backing Atlantic Council experts share their insights on the intensifying war in Ukraine Ukraine’s coming counteroffensive has a great chance of succeeding due to a number of factors including superior leadership The views expressed in UkraineAlert are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Atlantic Council The Eurasia Center’s mission is to enhance transatlantic cooperation in promoting stability democratic values and prosperity in Eurasia from Eastern Europe and Turkey in the West to the Caucasus Image: A satellite image shows Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric plant after its collapse Sign up to receive expert analysis from our community on the most important global issues © 2025 Atlantic CouncilAll rights reserved If refreshing the page doesn't resolve the issue you could try clearing the sites browser cache The partial destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region on 6 June represents another blow to global food security Located on the transboundary Dnieper River, which runs from Ukraine’s northern border with Belarus down to the Black Sea, the dam provided water to the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and is crucial for power generation, irrigation and drinking water. While Ukraine currently controls five of the six dams along the Dnieper River the Kakhovka dam – the furthest downstream in the Kherson region – has been under Russian control since President Vladimir Putin launched his invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 With the nearby Kakhovka Reservoir, which at the time held 18 cubic kilometres of water, at the centre of an extensive network of irrigation canals (such as the North Crimean and Kakhovsky canals), the collapse of the dam triggered extensive flooding downstream and 30% in Dnipropetrovsk have been left without a water source These significant blows to what is known as “the breadbasket of Europe” raise concerns about global food supplies and market volatility. Like Russia, Ukraine is a major agricultural power, playing a key role in the grain and edible oil markets – the backbone of global food security. Ukraine alone accounts for 40% of the global trade in sunflower meal Prior to the war, the affected regions in southern Ukraine harvested four million tonnes of grains and oilseeds annually, valued at US$1.5 billion despite comprising only 2% of Ukraine’s 33 million hectares of farmland contributed more than 4% of the country’s gross agricultural production Aside from the European Union, the other main importing regions are Africa and Asia – two increasingly food-insecure regions. Between 2018 and 2020, Africa imported US$3.7 billion in wheat (32% of total African wheat imports) from Russia and US$1.4 billion from Ukraine (12% of total African wheat imports) In a March 2022 report, the United Nations identified 36 countries reliant on Russia and Ukraine for more than 50% of their wheat imports including some of the poorest and most vulnerable News of the dam collapse caused a global increase in wheat and corn prices with grain prices rising by an average of 3% on the international market These price increases exacerbate concerns about food insecurity which have been heightened by Moscow’s threat to withdraw from the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN and Turkey in July 2022 aims to address the global food crisis resulting from the conflict by allowing Ukrainian agricultural products to be exported from three Ukrainian ports – Chornomorsk UN officials agreed to assist Russia with its food and fertiliser exports However, Putin recently pointed out that Europe is the biggest importer of Ukrainian grain, also criticising the West for not implementing measures to give Russian agricultural goods and fertiliser products access to global markets. He also stated that Russia was prepared to supply grain for free to the world’s poorest nations In addition to the challenges Ukrainian farmers have faced since February 2022, the loss of agricultural land will cause further difficulties. Without the grain deal, exporting agricultural products becomes even more challenging. Ongoing tensions with neighbouring countries, such as Hungary, over cheap Ukrainian grain flooding the regional market Reduced export volumes and increased costs would lead to lower prices and incomes for Ukrainian farmers The situation puts pressure on other countries to meet the demand for grains particularly those reliant on Ukrainian and Russian agricultural products While good harvests in other major agricultural nations may result in relatively low import prices in the short term other agricultural powerhouse nations will likely face challenges in meeting demand in the medium-to-long term countries reliant on Ukrainian and Russian agricultural products may experience increased competition with countries scrambling against each other to secure limited supplies This will likely result in food price spikes For Ukraine and the many countries dependant on Ukrainian and Russian agricultural imports for food security the hydroelectric dam’s collapse combined with the likelihood of Moscow withdrawing from the Black Sea Grain Initiative is a recipe for disaster The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute Create your free account to receive personalised content alerts and Re:action our weekly newsletter of the top chemical science stories handpicked from a range of magazines journals and websites alongside insight and analysis from our expert editorial team Tell us what you think. Take part in our reader survey By 2023-06-21T13:30:00+01:00 located upstream of the city of Kherson on the Dnipro River in occupied southern Ukraine The destruction of the dam, which was under the control of the Russian military, caused extensive flooding along the lower Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast and resulted in thousands of people being evacuated from their homes and 21 deaths The rupture also compromised the water levels in the reservoir supplying the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) located 160km away in the city of Enerhodar The reservoir supplies water needed to cool the plant’s reactors and spent fuel and the falling water levels have led to fears of a nuclear meltdown There are two necessities for the safe functioning of any power plant: electricity and water the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) needs a constant supply of water for residual heat removal from the reactors and ponds that store spent fuel as well as to cool the emergency diesel generators when they are in operation Water is usually supplied by the Kakhovka reservoir, which is then pumped into the ZNPP’s cooling pond. However, following the breach of the Nova Kakhovka dam on 6 June, the water levels in the reservoir supplying the ZNPP started to fall at a rate of between 4 to 7cm/hour It was initially thought that the water level needed to be at least 12.7m for the ZNPP to be able to access the water for cooling, however an update from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveals that the ZNPP pumps are still operating at levels below this head of the safety analysis unit at the State Scientific and Technical Centre on Nuclear and Radiation Safety in Kyiv Before the dam was breached it was over 17m On 11 June there were reports of a significant discrepancy in measurements of the height of the reservoir with a possible difference of around 2m Further investigations are being carried out The situation has been described by the IAEA as ‘very precarious and potentially dangerous’ but There are several factors which reduce the immediacy of the threat to the ZNPP First, five of the ZNPP’s six reactors are in cold shutdown to help minimise the risk of a nuclear accident now that the site is under Russian control. The sixth remains in hot shutdown to produce steam on site for operations such as the treatment of liquid radioactive waste which is collected from the six reactors even while they are shutdown In a nuclear reactor that has recently been put into cold shutdown the radioactive decay of the fuel creates about 100 times less heat power; the longer the reactor is kept shutdown the less heat energy is created does not require the same level of cooling This means that the ZNPP currently does not need a huge amount of water and if the water supply does completely run out it will be at least a few days before the coolant starts to heat up despite the falling water levels in the reservoir the water level in the ZNPP cooling pond is currently stable and at its maximum level of 16.9m The discharge channel of the nearby Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant (ZTPP) there is enough water to cool all the reactors for several months On 16 June, the IAEA said there were some indications that water from the reservoir itself was still available in areas near the ZNPP but that it was unclear if the level was high enough to pump it up to the plant New pumps that can access water at lower reservoir levels could also be installed to keep the reactor cores cool The ZNPP’s other lifeline – it’s connection to Ukraine’s electricity grid – is also threatened electricity to the ZNPP is supplied by the country’s grid This provides the power to run the pumps that cool the reactors since the Russian occupation began in March 2022 the plant has lost off-site power at least seven times with the launch of the Ukrainian counteroffensive military activity and tensions are intensifying in the area near the ZNPP which is complicating the safety of the facility five basic IAEA principles were established at the UN Security Council for the protection of the plant including that there must be no attacks at or from the site and that it must not be used as a store for heavy weapons Compliance with these principles will be monitored closely Should the electricity supply to the ZNPP be compromised, there are 20 emergency diesel generators that start operating automatically when connection to the grid is lost the ZTPP has also provided backup power to the ZNPP long-term solutions to the problem of cooling the nuclear reactors It is currently very difficult for experts in Ukraine to monitor the situation To carry out essential checks and monitor efforts to manage the problems caused by the falling water levels the IAEA is still carrying out regular checks and assessing what can be done should the situation deteriorate The plant is also exploring alternate ways to meet the site’s needs for generating steam and providing essential cooling should the water supply run out completely The highest priority right now is to eliminate the threat of military activities around the plant which could cause extensive damage to the site and electricity supply the risk of a nuclear disaster occurring rises substantially There are fears that the situation with ZNPP could lead to a nuclear disaster, much like what happened to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan after the earthquake and tsunami of 2011 The fission reaction that generates heat in a nuclear power plant is produced by positioning uranium fuel rods in close proximity it requires substantial cooling to remove the heat and prevent the fuel rods from melting and pooling at the bottom of the reactor pot At Fukushima the cooling was interrupted shortly after the shutdown of the reactors as a result of a station blackout The fuel cladding – which is normally a zirconium alloy – can react exothermically with steam to form hydrogen gas and zirconium dioxide The combustion of this hydrogen caused the explosions at Fukushima because most of the reactors are in cold shutdown at the ZNPP less heat is being produced helping to mitigate the effects of the cooling stopping Spent fuel pools also need a constant circulation of water to keep cool and without electricity to run the cooling system as the spent fuel was last used longer ago than the fuel in the reactor the overheating effects will be less severe than those in the reactor The main effect of the cooling pond running out of water will be an increase in the radiation level close to the pond One purpose of the water is to act as a radiation shield Acknowledgements: Thank you to Dmytro Gumenyuk and Mark Foreman for their expert insight into this topic.  Site powered by Webvision Cloud your new go-to podcast to spice up your weekday mornings with relevant news and behind-the-scenes from Brussels and beyond From the economy to the climate and the EU's role in world affairs this talk show sheds light on European affairs and the issues that impact on our daily lives as Europeans Tune in to understand the ins and outs of European politics Dare to imagine the future with business and tech visionaries Deep dive conversations with business leaders Euronews Tech Talks goes beyond discussions to explore the impact of new technologies on our lives the podcast provides valuable insights into the intersection of technology and society Europe's water is under increasing pressure floods are taking their toll on our drinking water Join us on a journey around Europe to see why protecting ecosystems matters and to discover some of the best water solutions an animated explainer series and live debate - find out why Water Matters We give you the latest climate facts from the world’s leading source analyse the trends and explain how our planet is changing We meet the experts on the front line of climate change who explore new strategies to mitigate and adapt A Soviet-era dam in the Russian-controlled part of southern Ukraine was blown up early Tuesday morning unleashing a significant amount of water now flowing free through the dam and the hydroelectric power plant Ukraine's military authorities said the Kakhovka Dam was destroyed by Russian forces both sides have been accusing each other of plotting to blow up the dam and the cooling of the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant "The Russian army has carried out another terrorist attack They have blown up the Kakhovka dam," Oleksandr Prokudin head of the Military Administration of Kherson province said in a video address to the local population has written that it is establishing "the destruction speed and volume" of the overflow caused by the explosion Zelenskyy has blamed the destruction of the dam on "Russian terrorists" writing on Twitter: "The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land I have convened the National Security and Defense Council." The National Police of Ukraine has started evacuating people in affected villages while also urging them to turn off their electrical appliances The head of the Ukrainian presidential office had convened an urgent National Security Council which stretches across the front line traversing Ukraine’s Dnieper River It was built in 1956 as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and contains an enormous amount of water -- the same volume as the Great Salt Lake in Utah US -- which is used to supply the Crimean peninsula and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant The destruction of the dam could add to Ukraine's ongoing energy problem as well as disrupting the irrigation system in Crimea President says destruction of Nova Kakhovka dam would mean large-scale disaster for towns and cities has accused Russia of plotting to blow up the two-mile Nova Kakhovka dam in the south of the country warning its destruction would cause “a large-scale disaster” affecting towns and cities which holds back 18m cubic metres of water straddles the Dnieper River upstream from Russian-held Kherson and is about 20 miles from advancing Ukrainian forces hoping to recapture both it and the occupied city Zelenskiy said he had told European leaders that “Russian terrorists” had mined the dam which if blown would have repercussions that would affect Crimea as well as the surrounding region Ukrainian military intelligence said on Friday that Russia had conducted the main mining works back in April but warned that the floodgates and supports of the dam were further primed in the past week Two military vehicles full of explosives were placed on the road that crosses the dam “Now everyone in the world must act powerfully and quickly to prevent a new Russian terrorist attack Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster,” Zelenskiy warned amid concern in Kyiv that Russia would blame any breach of the dam on Ukraine Russian propagandists have been circulating graphics online showing a possible flood path leading the Institute for the Study of War thinktank to conclude that Moscow “is likely continuing to prepare for a false flag attack” by the retreating forces said on Tuesday he had information that Ukrainian forces were preparing a massive strike on the dam and warned of a disaster if it was breached “We have information on the possibility of the Kyiv regime using prohibited methods of war in the area of the city of Kherson on the preparation by Kyiv of a massive missile strike on the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam,” Surovikin said Ukraine began a counteroffensive in the Kherson region west of the Dnieper in September and over the past month has been gradually pushing back Russian forces closer to both the dam and the city of Kherson itself This week Russia announced that it would begin evacuating civilians from the city actions widely seen as a precursor to either giving up the city or leaving it lightly defended The military intelligence statement also warned that “dozens of Ukrainian settlements including Kherson” could be affected by a breach and that “the scale of the ecological disaster will go far beyond the borders of Ukraine and affect the entire Black Sea region” Zelenskiy said that destroying the dam would also lead to the destruction of the nearby North Crimean canal which supplies water to the Russian-held peninsula and which had only been reopened by the invading force earlier this year “And if Russia is preparing such a terrorist attack if it is seriously considering such a scenario it means the terrorists are clearly aware that they will not be able to keep not only Kherson Share full article278278A dam in Ukraine was designed to withstand almost any attack imaginable — from the outside The evidence suggests Russia blew it up from within Source: Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Office via Associated Press Moments after a major dam in a Ukrainian war zone gave way wild torrents cascaded over the jagged remains of the top But the real problem most likely lay elsewhere cloaked deep beneath the surface of the raging waters And because the dam was built during Soviet times Moscow had every page of the engineering drawings and knew where it was The dam was built with an enormous concrete block at its base that an explosive charge detonated and destroyed the dam seismic sensors in Ukraine and Romania detected the telltale signs of large explosions Witnesses in the area heard large blasts between roughly 2:15 a.m American intelligence satellites captured infrared heat signals that also indicated an explosion After the first section of the dam was breached videos suggest that the power of the rushing water tore a larger and larger gash into the dam As the water levels further dropped this week they fell below the top of the concrete foundation The section that collapsed was not visible above the water line — strong evidence that the foundation had suffered structural damage with each side blaming the other for the collapse multiple explanations are theoretically possible But the evidence clearly suggests the dam was crippled by an explosion set off by the side that controls it: Russia Anna Lukinova and Brent McDonald contributed reporting Mark Temnycky explores the consequences on global food supplies of what appears to be yet another example of the Kremlin’s ecological terrorism Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive editorial emails from the Byline Times Team On Monday 5 June, Russian forces destroyed the Nova Kakhovka dam. Located in southern Ukraine, the dam contains a vast reservoir of water used to supply the Crimean peninsula as well as the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant – the largest in Europe The Nova Kakhovka hydropower plant itself is also one of the world’s largest dams in terms of reservoir capacity the Nova Kakhovka Dam is almost as large as the Hoover Dam located in the United States.) it could be one of the largest eco-disasters on the European continent These events are just the latest examples of atrocities committed by the Russians during their unjust war Throughout the Russian invasion of Ukraine the invaders have participated in numerous cases of ecological warfare and it is one of the world’s top food producers there is a heavy reliance on Ukrainian food and grain exports globally Russia is attempting to diminish Ukraine’s status in the world the Russians destroyed Ukraine’s farmlands The invasion has also significantly impacted the agricultural sector and environment Russian Government-backed scientific studies suggest that the war in Ukraine is the world’s first rear-guard military attack on the global climate movement The war’s socio-economic and environmental impacts on Ukraine have been devastating The recent flooding caused by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam is now the latest example of Russia’s eco-warfare Satellite imagery shows that entire regions are flooded the developments near the Nova Kakhovka dam have been catastrophic But there could be additional grave consequences According to documents exclusively provided to the Byline Times by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine water levels in the area have risen rapidly by dozens of centimetres “The water level in the Dnipro River is gradually rising,” the document read the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense stated that it is concerned about the potential impact the flooding could have on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant (ZNNP) “The water level in the Kakhovka reservoir is rapidly decreasing,” the document stated This will result in an “additional threat to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP Water from the Kakhovka Reservoir is necessary for the station to receive power for turbine capacitors and safety systems of the ZNPP.” As the UN nuclear watchdog mission visits the Russian-occupied Ukrainian nuclear power plant Byline Times speaks to locals and experts on the ground workers at the ZNNP are monitoring the situation Representatives from the International Atomic Energy Agency are also at the plant and monitoring the area The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam would pose a serious risk to an already damaged ZNNP this would resort in a nuclear catastrophe far worse than the 1986 Chornobyl catastrophe authorities are monitoring the situation around the destroyed dam and the ZNNP But the damage already caused by Russia’s latest atrocious act shows that the Russians do not regard Ukrainian lives or their environment Thousands of Ukrainian lives have been put at risk due to the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam thousands of hectares of agricultural land are unusable and millions around the globe continue to face world hunger it is imperative that the international community interview and aid Ukraine with these disasters should the Russians continue these tactics millions of more lives will be put in harm’s way Ukraine’s agricultural sector and environment will be destroyed and global food supplies will be impacted for years