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Blasting of the Kakhovka Dam: What is known so far

2023-06-06T11:12:20.478Z

Highlights: The Kakhovka dam is located in the Russian-occupied part of the country near the front line. Both Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the alleged explosion. It is feared that the rupture of the dam will lead to massive flooding in the embattled Kherson region. About 16,000 people live in the "critical zone", according to local authorities. The dam is not expected to have any impact on the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the northeast.



Flooding and evacuation: The explosion of the Kakhovka dam threatens the Kherson region. How bad is the situation? All answers at a glance.

Kherson - Floods, evacuations and a huge environmental catastrophe in the Ukraine war: After a heavy explosion at the important dam in southern Ukraine, the adjacent hydroelectric power plant was destroyed on Tuesday (6 June), according to both warring parties. The Nova Kakhovka dam is located in the Russian-occupied part of the country near the front line. Both Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for the alleged explosion. The outflowing water seems to be uncontrollable. What does this mean for Ukraine? And how bad is the situation really? All questions and answers at a glance.

Blowing up Kakhovka Dam: What is known so far - all questions and answers at a glance

After the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam, repairing the power plant "obviously" no longer seems possible. This was announced by the Russian-appointed mayor Vladimir Leontiev on Russian state television. According to the information, the structure was destroyed on half of its length and continues to collapse, Russia's news agency Tass reported in the morning. The 30-meter-high dam, built in 1956 on the Dnieper River as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, was 3.2 kilometers long before the expolision.

After the blowing up of the Kakhovka dam, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin blame each other. © Gavriil Grigorov/Andreea Alexandru/dpa/Montage

Rupture from the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine: what does it mean for Kherson and Crimea?

It is feared that the rupture of the dam will lead to massive flooding in the embattled Kherson region. According to local authorities, about 16,000 people live in the "critical zone". Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal spoke of a risk of flooding for up to 80 villages. The destruction will lead to an environmental catastrophe. The military governor of the area, Olexander Prokudin, warned that within five hours the water level could reach a critical height of twelve meters, according to estimates. In a first reaction, 300 houses were evacuated and several villages were cut off from the power supply as a precaution.

Mayor Leontiev acknowledged that there could also be problems with the water supply on the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014 and is located south of Kherson. This is supplied with water from the Kakhovka reservoir. Videos were shared in Ukrainian media and on social networks, which, it seems, already showed rising water levels around the city of Kherson. Footage also shows how large amounts of water apparently flow out of the wall of the dam. Initially, the authenticity of the videos could not be independently verified.

What does the Kakhovka dam have to do with the Zaporizhzhia NPP?

However, the alleged blowing up of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine is not expected to have any impact on the operation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant to the northeast. According to initial reports, the water from the Kakhovka reservoir was also supposed to play a role in cooling the nuclear power plant. But the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gave the all-clear for the time being.

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"IAEA experts at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant are closely monitoring the situation," the agency said on Twitter on Tuesday morning. "No immediate danger at the power plant." A spokesman for the Russian nuclear company Rosenergoatom also told the Interfax agency that the nuclear power plant - which, like the Kakhovka dam, is located on the Dnipro River - was not affected. The nuclear facility is occupied by Russian troops as a result of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine.

Who blew up the Kakhovka dam near Kherson?

The exact background is unclear. The assumption is that the dam was blown up. But Kiev and Moscow blamed each other. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky spoke of "terror" and convened the National Security Council. The Russian occupiers, on the other hand, blamed Ukrainian shelling for the damage. It was also speculated that the dam may have broken due to poor maintenance. Initially, the information provided by both sides could not be independently verified.

Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine more than 15 months ago and also occupied the Kherson region in the course of its war of aggression. Then, last fall, the Ukrainian army managed to liberate part of the region - including the regional capital of the same name. However, cities south of the Dnipro remained under Russian control, including the dam town of Nova Kakhovka. Again and again, the Ukrainians had warned of a possible act of sabotage by the Russians in Nova Kakhovka. There was particular concern when the occupiers announced the evacuation of the city in November.

For weeks now, people have been waiting for a large-scale counteroffensive by Ukraine against the Russian occupiers. Actually, according to many military observers, it should have already begun. But urgently needed weapons systems from the West were a long time coming. In addition, the rainy weather in spring probably threw a spanner in the works for the planners. Nevertheless, there is great concern in Russia's army that the advance on the front line could now start gradually.

Setback for counteroffensive in the Ukraine war: crossing the Dnieper now hardly possible

Against this background, the blowing up of the dam is a major setback for Ukraine. A counteroffensive or a crossing of the Dnieper on this sector of the front by the Ukrainian army is now "almost impossible" due to the masses of water, said the military expert of the Bundeswehr University, Carlo Masala, in an interview with Die Welt.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak made a similar statement. Russia obviously has the goal of creating insurmountable obstacles to the planned large-scale Ukrainian offensive, he wrote on Twitter on Tuesday. This is an attempt to delay the end of the war and a deliberate crime.

Does the blowing up of the Kakhovka Dam constitute a war crime in the Ukraine war?

In view of the floods, a discussion also flared up on Tuesday about the extent to which a possible blowing up of the Kakhovka dam constitutes a war crime. Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky accused Russia's leadership around President Vladimir Putin of pushing the boundaries of its aggression further and further.

"The attack on the Nova Kakhovka dam above populated areas is comparable to the use of weapons of mass destruction against civilians," he wrote on Twitter. Such brutal action must be punished. Since not only soldiers but also civilians were affected en masse by the explosion, one could certainly speak of a war crime, Masala said. (jkf/

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Source: merkur

All news articles on 2023-06-06

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