Thousands of individuals are being evacuated downstream of a collapsed dam in Russian-held Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky stated that 80 cities and villages may be flooded as a result of Russia’s destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
The Dnipro River is overflowing, posing a threat of catastrophic inundation to the city of Kherson.
Russia has denied responsibility for the destruction of the dam that it controls, instead blaming the Ukrainian bombardment.
The Kakhovka dam, situated downstream of the enormous Kakhovka reservoir, is vital to the region.
It supplies water to farmers, locals, and the Zaporizhia nuclear power facility. It is also a vital waterway leading to the Russian-occupied Crimea to the south.
The administrator of state-owned hydropower facilities in Ukraine, Ukrhydroenergo, has issued a warning that the peak of a water spill downstream from the emptying reservoir is anticipated on Wednesday morning.
According to the report, this would be followed by a period of “stabilization,” after which the water would swiftly recede within four to five days.
There are concerns about the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which employs reservoir water for cooling and is the largest in Europe.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the situation is reportedly under control and there is “no immediate nuclear safety risk” at the plant.
A breach in the dam is captured on video showing a torrent of floodwater pouring through it. Several towns have been flooded, forcing downstream people to escape by bus and train.
Deputy Prosecutor-General Viktoriya Lytvynova stated on Ukrainian television that a total of 40,000 persons must be evacuated, including 17,000 in Ukrainian-controlled territory west of the Dnipro River and 25,000 in Russian-controlled territory to the east.
On Ukrainian television, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko reported 1,000 people evacuated and 24 communities flooded.
He accused Russia of bombarding the southern region of Kherson, from which people were being evacuated, and warned of the dangers posed by mines exposed by rising water levels.
Andriy, a resident who resides near the dam that was seized by Russian forces shortly after Moscow launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, stated that he believed Russia intended to “drown” his city.
In the Ukrainian-controlled city of Kherson, a woman named Lyudmyla said, as she loaded her belongings, including a washing machine, onto a caravan attached to an old vehicle, “We fear flooding. We’re elevating our possessions a bit.”
She demanded that Russian forces be expelled from the area because “they’re shooting at us.” They are either inundating us or doing something else.”
Another city resident, Serhiy, expressed concern that “everything is going to die here.”
“All living things, including humans, will be displaced,” he said, pointing to adjacent houses and gardens.
The Moscow-appointed mayor of Nova Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontyev, reported 900 flood-related evacuations.
Authorities are sending 53 evacuation buses to transport people from the city and two other adjacent settlements to safety.
He added that some inhabitants were taken to the hospital as water levels surpassed 11 meters (36 feet).
The small hamlet of Oleshky was also severely flooded, according to officials appointed by the Kremlin.
The Kazkova Dibrova Zoo on the Russian-held riverside posted on Facebook that all 300 animals died in the flood.
Ukrainian counteroffensive forces may have feared utilising the dam route to penetrate into Russian-held area.
Ukrainian counteroffensive forces may have feared utilising the dam route to penetrate into Russian-held area.
For Russia, which was eager to defend conquered territory in southern Ukraine, the dam posed an apparent difficulty.
Just as Ukrainian forces attacked road and rail bridges further downstream last autumn in a successful attempt to isolate Russian forces in and around Kherson, Russia may have decided to destroy the dam to thwart Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which it suspects could come from multiple directions.
However, a Russian official claims Ukraine attacked the dam to detract from what they deemed to be the failings of its counter-offensive and to deprive Crimea of fresh water. Crimea is the southern peninsula of Ukraine that was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
A significant Ukrainian offensive has been long anticipated. Kyiv has stated that it will not provide advance notice of the counteroffensive’s launch. But a recent increase in military activity is seen as a new indication that the offensive may have begun.
President Zelensky stated Tuesday evening that the devastation of the dam would not deter Ukraine. “We will still liberate all of our lands,” he declared in a video message.
Mr. Zelensky called an emergency security and defence council meeting earlier that day to discuss the situation.
Hanna Maliar, the deputy defense minister of Ukraine, stated on Monday that Ukrainian forces had advanced around the “epicenter of hostilities” in Bakhmut, but she did not specify whether a counteroffensive had begun.
Bakhmut has been at the center of violent conflict for months. It has little strategic value but has symbolic significance for both Kyiv and Moscow.
Intercepted phone calls suggest Russia would attack more dams, according to Ukrainian Ministry of Defence adviser Yuri Sak.
“They are calling for the destruction of additional dams on the Dnipro,” he said.
Ukraine called the dam attack “ecocide” and estimated 150 tonnes of engine oil flowed into the Dnieper River.
Ukrhydroenergo reported that a power station connected to the dam was “destroyed… the hydraulic structure is being eroded.”
World leaders have blamed Russia for the explosion, with some dubbing it a war crime.
If Russia was responsible for the dam catastrophe, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said. It would “demonstrate the new lows of Russian aggression.”
The head of Nato, Jens Stoltenberg, stated that the destruction of the dam demonstrated once again the brutality of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, while the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, stated that he was “shocked by the unprecedented attack”.
Due to the risk, it poses to civilians, the Geneva Conventions expressly prohibit targeting dams during combat.
