China News Network, June 6 Comprehensive foreign media reported that on the 6th local time, the Kakhovka hydropower dam in the Kherson region was damaged by shelling, and some areas are suffering from floods. Russia and Ukraine accused each other of carrying out the attack.

The hydroelectric power station was bombed in the early hours of the morning

Uncontrolled drainage

According to a report by the Russian Satellite News Agency on the 6th, Nova Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontiev said that the top of the hydropower station was damaged and the reservoir dam itself was not destroyed.

Image source: Screenshot of the damage to the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam provided by the Office of the President of Ukraine on June 2023, 6 local time.

Leontiev said, "At two o'clock in the morning, the top of the hydroelectric power station, where the gate is located, where the gate is directly located, was attacked several times, it was blown up. ”

He also said that after the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, the water level downstream rose by 2.5 meters, and all relevant departments have rushed to the scene. Hydropower plants are discharging water uncontrollably.

According to public information, the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam built on the Dnieper River is 30 meters high and 3.2 kilometers long, built in 1956, with a reservoir volume of 18 cubic kilometers.

Hundreds of houses may be flooded

The Zaporizhzhya NPP is temporarily safe

The authorities of the Kherson region said that the evacuation of the area around the dam has been initiated and the water level will reach "dangerous levels" in a few hours.

Image source: Screenshot of RIA Novosti report

RIA Novosti, citing officials from the city of Nova Kakhovka, reported that about 300 houses in some municipalities downstream of the city could be flooded.

The latest news from Russian media shows that the coastal area of Nova Kakhovka was flooded after an accident at the hydroelectric power station. Water is approaching the Nova Kakhovka city administration building, Dnieper Avenue is flooded. The residential area is not yet flooded, but the water has spread to residential buildings, and the city government is ready to evacuate.

The Kakhovka hydroelectric power station supplies water to the Crimean peninsula, and the Ukrainian side has previously said that "if this dam explodes, the water supply in the Crimean region will face a water supply outage of at least 10 to 15 years, or even forever." ”

The hydroelectric plant also supplies water to the Zaporizhzhya NPP. The latest news from the International Energy Agency said that it has learned about the damage to the hydropower plant, and its experts stationed at the Polizhzhya nuclear power plant are following the situation, and there is currently no safety threat to the nuclear power plant.

Zelensky urgently held a meeting

Who was responsible for the attack?

The Ukrainian military said on the 6th that "Russian troops blew up a large dam in Kherson Oblast in southern Ukraine."

However, a local official appointed by the Russian side denied this claim, saying that it was the work of the Ukrainian side.

Russian media said that it is speculated that the Ukrainian army used the "Olkha" multiple launch rocket artillery system to attack the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

Infographic: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

According to Reuters, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Danilov said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council to discuss the relevant situation.

Reuters said that it was impossible to independently verify the reports of both Ukrainian and Russian sides.