The Nova Kakhovka dam supplies water to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014, and to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also under Russian control.
Nova Kakhovka Dam burst in Kherson region, Ukraine on June 6, 2023: Video screenshot.
Panoramic view of the broken dam. Satellite image: Maxar
Another view of the collapsed dam in Kherson. Photo: Energoatom
The UN's International Atomic Energy Agency said on Twitter that it was closely monitoring the situation but there was currently "no immediate nuclear safety risk" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
However, Ukraine's state atomic energy agency Energoatom said the water level of the Kakhovka Reservoir was falling rapidly, posing a "potential threat" to Europe's largest nuclear power plant.
About 22,000 people still live in 14 settlements in Kherson, southern Ukraine. They are at risk of flooding, Russia's RIA news agency quoted the head of the region as saying. Kherson is one of five regions, including Crimea, that Russia says it has annexed from Ukraine.
Videos of the incident showed water surging through the remains of the dam. The water level rose several metres in just a few hours. A Russian official in the town of Nova Kakhovka said residents of about 300 homes had been evacuated, the state-run TASS news agency reported. He said it may be impossible to repair the dam.
The location of the Kakhovka Dam on the Dnipro River, one of the front lines in the Russia-Ukraine conflict. Graphic photo: Reuters
The Ukrainian military's Southern Command accused Russian forces of blowing up the 30-meter-high, 3.2-kilometer-long Nova Kakhovka dam, which was built in 1956 on the Dnipro River. "The scale of the destruction, the speed and volume of water, as well as the areas that could be flooded, are being clarified," the Ukrainian military said on Facebook.
Meanwhile, Russian news agencies said the dam was destroyed by Ukrainian shelling, with the mayor of the Russian-controlled town of Nova Kahhovka blaming “terrorist acts” by Ukrainian forces.
The head of Russia's Kherson region said evacuations near the dam had begun and water levels would reach dangerous levels within five hours. The Kakhovka hydroelectric plant was "completely destroyed" and beyond repair after the explosion, Ukraine's state hydroelectric company said.
The dam burst came as Ukraine was preparing to launch a counter-offensive in its conflict with Russia. Russia said it had thwarted several recent Ukrainian counter-offensives in Donetsk and inflicted heavy losses on the enemy.
Huy Hoang (according to TASS, Reuters, AP)
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