Retaliatory measure, accidental explosion or missile strike? The origin of the partial destruction of the Kakhovka dam on the Dniep has not yet been determined. “The Kakhovka reservoir was destroyed by the Russian occupation forces,” immediately accused the commander of the southern zone of the Ukrainian army. “Multiple strikes targeted the Kakhovka dam” overnight from Monday to Tuesday according to Vladimir Leontiev, the mayor of the city of Nova Kakhovka, under Russian control. The governor of the Kherson region, installed by the Kremlin army, certifies that the destruction was due to a Ukrainian missile strike.
Immediate consequences: 22,000 people from 14 cities are in danger, according to Russia, in the Kherson region and electricity has been cut in a district of Kherson, liberated on November 11. Ukraine has started evacuating some residents. In addition, the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was “totally destroyed” and cannot be restored after a detonation in the engine room, according to the Ukrainian state hydroelectric company. The city of Nova Kakhovka under Moscow control is flooded.
“According to the emergency services, the water has risen (…) to a level between 2 and 4 meters which does not threaten the large localities” located below the dam along the river, said on Telegram Andrei Alekseïenko, head of the government of the Kherson region, installed by Russia. Vladimir Leontiev announced the evacuation of 300 houses, located on the banks of the Dnieper.
In addition, the dam created the Kakhovka Reservoir, an artificial lake, which allows the irrigation of the steppes in southern Ukraine and northern Crimea, via the North Crimean Channel. After the 2014 invasion of Crimea, Ukraine first stopped, then reduced, the canal’s flow.
Finally, the danger of “nuclear disaster” at the Zaporijjia power plant “is increasing rapidly”, warned an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, after the at least partial destruction of the Kakhovka dam 150 km away. The Russian forces deny any threats to the plant.
The Kakhovka dam, a partly concrete and earthen structure, is 3,273 meters long. It is one of the largest infrastructures of this type in Ukraine. According to the website of the Ukrainian operating company, Ukrgidroenergo, the power of the hydroelectric plant is 334.8 megawatts (MW).
This destruction, described as “ecocide” by the Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, would only aim to “create obstacles for the offensive actions of the armed forces”, according to Mykhaïlo Podoliak, adviser to the Ukrainian presidency. “The occupiers blew up the Kakhovka reservoir dam in panic. This is a clear terrorist act and a war crime that will be proven in an international court,” he added.
The dam had already been damaged after the liberation of the Kherson region. Volovymyr Zelensky then accused Russia of undermining the dam and “consciously preparing the ground for a large-scale disaster”.