Russian forces blew up the Nova Kakhovka dam in the Moscow-controlled part of the Kherson region, the Kiev army said, the Guardian and Ukrinform reported. "The Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was blown up by the Russian occupation forces. The extent of the destruction, the speed and volume of water, the probable flooding areas are currently being verified. All services work. The situation is being monitored," the Southern Operations Command said.
The news was also confirmed by the Russian emergency ministry, which however accused Kiev saying that the Nova Kakhovka dam was "partially destroyed" due to Ukrainian bombing, and stressing that there is no danger to the population of the region. The dam, controlled by the Russians, is a strategic water supply facility to Crimea, annexed by Russia. The head of the local pro-Russian administration, Vladimir Leontiev, quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency, however, said that water supplies to the peninsula should not be interrupted.
Ukraine, hit the Nova Kakhovka dam, in the Kherson region
Some mechanisms of the dam were damaged "by a Ukrainian bombing" and there was a 2.5-meter rise in the water level in the basin, but the dam itself "has not been destroyed" and "there will not be a catastrophe", added Leontyev who however added that the evacuation of about 300 houses downstream may be necessary. in the localities of Korsunki and Dnepryan. According to a correspondent of the Russian news agency RIA Novosti on the spot, Ukrainian forces continue to bombard the dam area with artillery.
Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was completely destroyed "as a result of the explosion of the engine room from the inside" and is not repairable, reports the Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne, citing the state company Ukrhydroenergo. The operator operates numerous hydroelectric power plants along the Dnipro and Dniester rivers.
The damage caused to the Kakhovka dam "could have negative consequences for the (Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant), but the situation is under control," says Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom. The Guardian reports. "On the night of June 6, 2023, Russian invaders blew up the HPP dam," the operator wrote in a statement, explaining that "rapidly decreasing" water levels in the reservoir pose an "additional threat to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant." For now, however, the nuclear power plant's cooling pond is full, he added. "Water from the Kakhovsky reservoir is necessary for the station to receive energy for the turbine condensers and security systems of the ZNNP (Zaporizhzhia power plant, ed.). The cooling pond of the station is now full: at 8:00 the water level is 16.6 meters, enough for the needs of the station," explained Energoatom.
The danger of a "nuclear disaster" at the Zaporizhzhia plant "increases rapidly," said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to the head of the Office of Ukrainian President Zelensky. "The world is again on the verge of a nuclear disaster, because the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has lost its source of cooling. And this danger is increasing rapidly," Podolyak said in a message to the media.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), however, there is "no immediate nuclear danger" at the Zaporizhzhia plant. "IAEA experts" on the site "are closely monitoring the situation," the UN body added in a tweet, as the plant uses river water to cool fuel from reactor cores.
The dam is also a strategic water supply facility to Crimea, annexed by Russia. The head of the local pro-Russian administration, Vladimir Leontiev, quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency, however, said that water supplies to the peninsula should not be interrupted.
ANSA Agency
Here's why the dam is needed by Russians - World
The Russian-controlled Nova Khakovka Dam in Ukraine, which local authorities say was damaged today by a Ukrainian bombing, is a strategic water supply facility to Russia-annexed Crimea. (ANSA)
The Ukrainian government speaks of a "disaster" and thousands of people in danger, so much so that the evacuation of those in the area most at risk has begun. "Currently, we know that about 16,000 people are in a critical area on the right bank of the Dnipro," Kherson police department chief Alexander Prokudin said. "At 7:30 (6:30 in Italy), the following settlements were completely or partially flooded: Tyaginka, Lvovoe, Otradokamenka (Berislavsky district), Ivanovka, Nikolskoye, Tokarevka, Ponyatovka, Belozerka, Ostrov microdistrict (Kherson district)," he added.
It is likely, he stressed, that other settlements will be affected. "We are ready for this. Currently, the evacuation of residents of these settlements has been organized. By bus to the city of Kherson, then to Nikolaev and from there to Khmelnitsky, Odessa, Kropyvnytskyi, Kiev and other cities," he explained, stating that at 12:00 (local time) from Kherson railway station a train for evacuees will leave for Nikolaev.
"At 11:00 a.m. local time (10:00 a.m. in Italy) 885 residents of the Kherson region had been evacuated following Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam," Ukraine's Interior Ministry said, as reported by the Kyiv Independent.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says that "Russia destroyed the Kakhovka Dam inflicting probably Europe's biggest technological disaster in decades and putting thousands of civilians at risk. This is a heinous war crime. The only way to stop Russia, the greatest terrorist of the 21st century, is to drive it out of Ukraine."
Spokeswoman for the Southern Military Command of Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, accused Russia of blowing up the dam to prevent Ukrainian forces from crossing the Dnipro River. "This is a hysterical reaction," Humeniuk said. "They were aware that the movement of the defense forces would take place, and in this way they tried to influence the defense forces so that the crossing of the Dnipro River, which they feared, did not happen."
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urgently convened the National Security Council. "We do everything to save people. All services are involved, military, government, offices," he wrote on Telegram at the end of the meeting"This night at 02:50 (1:50 in Italy, ed.), Russian terrorists carried out an internal detonation of the facilities of the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant. About 80 settlements are located in the flooded area - underlined the Ukrainian leader -. It was ordered to carry out evacuations from risk areas and to provide drinking water to all towns and villages that received water from the Kakhovsky reservoir." At the NSDC meeting, "a series of international and security measures were agreed to hold Russia accountable for this terrorist attack," the message concludes.