In a distressing development, Ukraine has reported that Russian forces have intentionally detonated a dam at the Kakhovska hydropower plant situated in southern Ukraine. This deliberate act has resulted in a significant rise in water levels, consequently posing a grave risk of flooding to numerous villages located along the Dnipro River.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has confirmed that ten villages on the western bank of the Dnipro River, along with a section of Kherson city, are now in imminent danger of flooding. In response to this alarming situation, residents have been urgently advised to prepare for evacuation. Regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin, in a video shared on his Telegram channel, expressed his concerns, warning that water levels would reach a critical stage within a mere five hours.
For more than a year, the Kakhovska reservoir, which supplies water for cooling the reactors at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine, has been under the control of Russian forces. This latest attack on the dam has aggravated an already tense situation.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has promptly called for an urgent meeting of the national security and defense council to address the gravity of the situation. Oleksiy Danilov, the council’s secretary, conveyed the president’s message via a Facebook post.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ southern military command, in an official Facebook post, has verified that the dam was indeed destroyed by Russian troops. At present, experts are assessing the extent of the damage, the resulting impact on water levels, and the areas that are at immediate risk of flooding.
As of now, Russia has not released an official statement regarding this distressing incident. However, it is worth noting that Ukraine has persistently issued warnings over the past year, cautioning that Russia may resort to such tactics to impede Ukrainian forces from reclaiming territory in the southern part of the country. This region had been occupied during President Vladimir Putin’s invasion in February 2022.
This deliberate destruction of the dam, coupled with the impending water supply shortage in the affected region, occurs at a highly critical juncture. Ukraine is presently gearing up for a long-anticipated counteroffensive against Russian troops, including those entrenched along the Dnipro River in the Kherson region. The potential consequences of this act of aggression further amplify the urgency of the situation at hand.
