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The news came early in the morning, the first pictures a little later: Aerial photographs show the half-destroyed Kakhovka dam in the Kherson region.The approximately three-meter-long dam dams the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine, now it is broken. The exact cause is still unclear, but one thing is certain: the reservoir holds around 18 billion cubic meters of water, most of which now drain southwards. The dam is located in the Russian-controlled part of the region. After the withdrawal of Russian troops in November 2022, only the eastern bank of the river is occupied by Russian troops. Since then, the west bank has been in Ukrainian hands. Dozens of villages and tens of thousands of people are now threatened by flooding – on both sides of the Dnieper. The water flows more strongly into the Russian-occupied territories on the east bank, as they are located lower. (Map). The German hydrologist Arnd Hartlieb assesses the consequences of the dam failure as follows:
Arnd Hartlieb, hydrologist:
"It's really a huge hole with a huge drain flowing through it now. So, this is really a catastrophic situation. You certainly don't have a chance to repair or straighten anything right here at the damaged area. So, I think it's uncontrollable what's happening right now. That's the most important thing, that you evacuate people now, that you get them out of the danger zone and that you hopefully have enough time for that to happen."
Initial footage from the region showed flooded roads in Kherson. The Russian-controlled city of Nova Kakhovka, located directly on the dam, is under water. Large areas in the region are flooded.
Oleksander Syomuk, local resident
"I'm in Kherson, it's 10:30 a.m. After an explosion at the Kakhovka embankment, the current in the Dnieper and its tributaries is very strong. The water level has risen by one meter. We'll see how it goes, but we're hoping for improvement."
But how did the dam burst in the first place? Kiev accuses the Russian government of deliberately blowing up the building for strategic reasons and speaks of an act of terrorism. . Moscow, on the other hand, blames Ukrainian rocket fire for the explosion. There were also initial reactions internationally:
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General:
"Russia has shaken peace in Europe. Today, the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam endangers thousands of civilians and causes serious environmental damage. This is an outrageous act that once again demonstrates Russia's brutality in the war against Ukraine."
The dam is located exactly on the front line and was probably damaged several times. In recent months, Ukrainian officials have also repeatedly warned of the possible destruction of the dam and the serious consequences. The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, about 140 kilometers away, also plays a role in this. The reservoir supplies the nuclear power plant, which is also occupied by Russia, with cooling water. However, the situation here is currently not threatening, according to the Ukrainian energy agency Energoatom. The plant still has sufficient cooling water reserves.