Fear of flood due to bursting of Kakhovka dam in Ukraine

The Kakhovka Dam, spanning the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine, was blown up on Tuesday, flooding the area ahead of a possible retaliatory strike from Ukraine and threatening a vital water supply to a nuclear plant.

Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the attack, which Kiev warned would have “catastrophic consequences” and affect dozens of settlements, including the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which has been hit by reactor cooling water flows. it depends on.

Oleksandr Prokudin, governor of Ukraine’s Kherson region, said Russian forces had blown up the dam and ordered the evacuation of several villages along the Ukraine-controlled west bank of the Dnieper River.

The water level in the region at risk, which Prokudin said includes part of the regional capital Kherson, could become critical as of 11 a.m., he said.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called an emergency Security Council meeting on Tuesday and blamed “Russian terrorists” for the blast.

The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station could have dire consequences for the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which uses water from the Kakhovka reservoir to cool nuclear reactors, said Mustafa Nayyam, head of Ukraine’s State Agency for Restoration. “

The flooding is also likely to complicate Ukraine’s plans for an amphibious assault on the area during an anticipated counter-offensive.

The dam and its hydroelectric power station, built in 1956, were one of the largest energy facilities in the country, holding approximately 18 cubic kilometers of water and providing electricity to more than 3 million people.

As a vital part of the country’s energy infrastructure, Nayyam said, “its destruction would have far-reaching consequences beyond the immediate area”, adding that it “could lead to hundreds of thousands of victims”.

“Russian military forces may consider that a breakthrough of the dam could cover their withdrawal from the Dnipro’s right bank and halt or delay Ukraine’s advance across the river,” Nayyam said.

Videos on social media showed water rising from the reservoir through a huge hole in the dam, which also supplies a canal that brings water to the Russian-occupied Crimea peninsula. Satellite images created by Maxar Technologies show damage to the sluice gate of the dam and a portion of the road.

During the early weeks of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion last year, Russia annexed the entire Kherson region, which is bisected by the Dnieper, before crossing the river from the regional capital in November.

Despite surrendering Kherson to Ukraine, Putin still officially considers the city part of Russia and its residents Russian citizens, after a failed attempt to annex four south-eastern Ukrainian regions before retreating.

Ukraine and Russia have regularly accused each other of shelling dams, hydroelectric power stations and nuclear power plants.

Zelensky said last year that Russia had planted mines in the region while preparing to retreat, which he warned could lead to a “massive disaster” and destroy Crimea’s water supply.

According to state news agency Tass, Vladimir Leontiev, the Russian-appointed mayor of the occupied city of Novaya Kakhovka, claimed that Ukrainian forces shelled the dam and caused it to collapse.

Leontiev said Russian authorities would put locals at risk from the floods, which he said had affected about 300 homes in surrounding villages. Russian-controlled emergency services said about 80 cities could be affected.

Tass cited another pro-Russia official who said the flooding did not pose an immediate “serious threat” to the nuclear power plant.