A screenshot from the video shows the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant after an explosion in the Russian-controlled a part of Ukrainian Kherson on June 6, 2023. The explosion unleashed flooding in the war zone.
Anadolu Agency | Anadolu Agency | Getty’s paintings
A strategically necessary dam in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine was blown up on Tuesday, raising concerns about safety, water supplies and Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, whose cooling water is drawn from an upstream reservoir.
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of blowing up a dam in the Russian-controlled city of Nova Kakhovova. Moscow denies attack and says Kiev intentionally sabotaged dam to divert attention counteroffensivein line with Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov in Google-translated comments reported by Russian state news agency Tass.
CNBC was unable to independently confirm the claims.
Footage reviewed by NBC News showed water cascading down the damaged dam as 1000’s of individuals living in low-lying areas downstream were evacuated.
Based on the Tass news agency, about 600 houses were flooded in consequence of the explosion of the Nova Kakhova dam. Moscow has declared a state of emergency in the Novokakov region.
Based on the Interior Ministry, by 11 am local time (4:15 am EST), 885 residents of the Kherson region of Ukraine had been evacuated.
Each the UK and Lithuania condemned the act as a “war crime”, while Latvia warned that the outbreak was an “environmental disaster”.
The dam is situated on the Dnieper River and stops an enormous body of water. It was built in 1956 as a part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.
The Kakhovka reservoir supplies water to the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, and supplies cooling water to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant, which can be controlled by Russia.
As well as, its water is used to power hydropower plants, irrigation systems and freshwater fish farming.
Partially flooded area of Kherson on June 6, 2023 following damage to the Kakhovka Dam.
Sergey Dollar | afp | Getty’s paintings
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that the government and public services are doing every thing in their power to avoid wasting people, and people living in the so-called “danger zones” ordered to evacuate as soon as possible.
Earlier on Tuesday, Zelensky convened a unprecedented meeting of the National Security and Defense Council to debate the situation.
“The destruction of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant is barely a confirmation to the whole world that they should be driven out of each corner of Ukrainian land. You can’t leave them a single meter, because they use every meter for terror,” Zelensky said.
Half the span of the Nova Kakhovka Dam appears to have been destroyed, with Tass reporting that the structure continues to be collapsing, citing emergency services.
Meanwhile, a Russian official in the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka reportedly said in comments to state television that it will be unattainable to repair the dam.
“No immediate threat” to the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant
The UN nuclear watchdog said it was closely monitoring the situation at the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant. The International Atomic Energy Agency said on Twitter that it was aware of the reported damage to the dam, but there was no “imminent safety risk” at the plant.
IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said in an announcement that the lack of cooling water for an prolonged time period at the Zaporozhye NPP will cause the fuel to melt and the emergency diesel generators to fail.
“Nonetheless, our current assessment is that there is no such thing as a imminent threat to the safety of the plant,” Grossi said. He added that there are quite a few alternative sources of water for a nuclear power plant.
Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom said via Telegram that “the water level in the Kakhov reservoir is dropping rapidly, which is a further threat” to the nuclear power plant, in line with the translation.
“Water from the Kakhovka Reservoir is crucial to power the condensers of the turbines and the NPP’s safety systems. The station’s cooling tank is now full: as of 8:00 a.m., the water level is 16.6 meters, which is enough for the station’s needs.
Conflict and Environment Observatory, a UK-based non-profit organization, said the Kakhovka Reservoir is referred to as the “ultimate heat sink” for the Zaporozhye NPP, noting that it might probably remove heat from shut down reactors and spent fuel tanks. He warned that a breach of the dam poses a “serious threat” to the plant.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said his government was also monitoring the condition of the Zaporozhye nuclear power plant after the dam burst.