Floods hit Ukraine after breaching the Kakhovka Dam

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The Kakhovka Dam spanning the Dnipro River in southern Ukraine was breached on Tuesday, flooding swathes of land ahead of an expected Ukrainian counterattack, prompting mass evacuations in the region.

Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for the dam’s breach, which Kiev warned would have “catastrophic consequences” and would affect dozens of settlements as well as complicate water supplies for Russian-occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called an emergency meeting of the Security Council and blamed “Russian terrorists” for the blast. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called it an “outrageous act” that showed “the brutality of Russia’s war in Ukraine”. The Kremlin accused Kiev of committing a “deliberate act of sabotage” in order to “deprive Crimea of ​​water”.

Water levels in the reservoir were higher than normal at the time of the breach and riverside areas in the region’s capital, Kherson, were flooded on Tuesday morning. Oleksandr Prokudin, the governor of Ukraine’s Kherson region, has ordered the evacuation of several villages along the western bank of the Dnipro River that are controlled by Ukraine.

The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant relies on water flowing from the reservoir above the dam to cool its reactors. Mustafa Naim, head of Ukraine’s state agency for restoration, warned of possible “catastrophic consequences”, but nuclear experts said there was no evidence the plant’s safety had been compromised.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said there was “no immediate threat to nuclear safety at the plant” but it was monitoring the situation. Energoatom, the Ukrainian nuclear power operator, said that water levels in the Kakhovka reservoir were falling, but that the level in the plant’s cooling pond was 16.6 meters – “enough for the power plant’s needs”.

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The flooding would likely complicate any Ukrainian plans for an amphibious assault on the region during its expected counter-offensive because most of the territory on the Russian-controlled side of the Dnipro would be virtually impassable.

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

Naeem said the dam constitutes an important part of the country’s energy infrastructure and “its destruction will have far-reaching consequences beyond the immediate region.”

He added, “Russian military forces may consider that breaching the dam could cover their withdrawal from the right bank of the Dnipro River and prevent or delay Ukraine’s advance across the river.”

Henrik Ölander-Hjalmarsson, the Swedish civil engineer who in October modeled the widespread damage caused by the breaking of the Kakhovka Dam, told the Financial Times that Tuesday’s breach “looks much worse” due to rising water levels in the reservoir. The scenario suggested that a wave of 4-5 meters would reach the Antonovsky Bridge near Kherson during the first day.

Videos on social media showed water flowing through the dam from the reservoir, which also provides a canal bringing water to Russian-occupied Crimea. Satellite images taken by Maxar Technologies showed damage to the dam’s sluice gates and part of the road.

Drone footage shows water breaching the destroyed Kakhovka Dam

Russia captured the entire Kherson region, which is bisected by the Dnipro River, during the first weeks of President Vladimir Putin’s invasion last year, before retreating across the river from the regional capital last November.

Despite handing over Kherson to Ukraine, Putin still officially considers the city to be part of Russia and its residents to be Russian citizens after a failed attempt to annex four regions of southeastern Ukraine before withdrawing.

Ukraine and Russia have routinely accused each other of bombing the dam, hydroelectric plant and nuclear power plant.

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Zelensky said last year that Russia had mined the region while preparing for its retreat, which he warned could cause a “widespread catastrophe” and destroy Crimea’s water supply.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov rejected allegations that Russia was responsible for the dam’s destruction. He said the “vandalism” would have “serious consequences” for tens of thousands of local residents.

Russia-controlled emergency services said about 80 towns could be affected. Authorities in the Russian-occupied Kherson region launched an evacuation of three large areas, and told residents to eat and drink water for three days.

European Union Council President Charles Michel blamed Moscow for breaching the dam. “Destroying civilian infrastructure is clearly a war crime – and we will hold Russia and its proxies accountable,” he wrote on Twitter.

Additional reporting by Henry Foy

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