Ukraine: What are the consequences of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam?

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine caused flooding in surrounding areas on Tuesday (June 6th). The Kakhova hydroelectric power plant is a strategic location that supplied water to the annexed peninsula of Crimea. The situation of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, located 150 kilometres upstream, is also worrying.

The Kakhova Dam after its partial destruction, June 6, 2023. © Ukrainian Presidential Office via AP

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky convened an Emergency National Security Council. The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, June 6, will have "terrible consequences on people's lives and the environment," lamented the Ukrainian president to the special envoy of Pope Francis, visiting Kiev.

Moscow and Kiev blame each other for the attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam. Its destruction could have disastrous consequences for all localities along the Dnieper River, up to its mouth on the Black Sea, located 140 kilometers downstream.

Floods, residents deprived of water

As the crow flies, the dam is located 60 kilometers upstream from the city of Kherson. It was built in the 1950s during the Soviet period. It made it possible to supply Crimea, annexed by Moscow since 2014. The structure and its reservoir contained approximately 18 million cubic metres of water.

► READ ALSO: Ukraine and Russia accuse each other of having destroyed the dam of Kakhovka

According to local authorities installed by Moscow, the city of Nova Kakhovka is partially flooded, and there are fears downstream of disastrous consequences on both banks for the inhabitants. Whether they are in the Russian-occupied zone, or on the part of the river returned to Ukrainian control. 24 localities were already flooded by midday Tuesday, said Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko, according to which "about a thousand" civilians were evacuated from the area. "The evacuation continues," the minister said.

Residents flooded in Kherson after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam on 6 June. Nina Lyashonok / AP

This destruction is therefore expected to cause significant difficulties for the water supply of the inhabitants of Crimea and the peninsula could remain without a water supply for many years. Part of southern Ukraine is also at risk of being left without water or electricity.

And this, especially since the hydroelectric plant of the Kakhovka dam is "completely destroyed", said the boss of the Ukrainian operator Ukrhydroenergo, Igor Syrota, on Ukrainian television. "The hydraulic structure is being washed away," he said.

The situation at the Zaporizhzhia power plant is worrying

The dam forms a huge water reservoir that rises to the city of Zaporizhzhia. This reservoir is 240 kilometers long and up to 23 kilometers wide. The reservoir cools the reactors of the Zaporizhzhia power plant, which may be without a cooling system.

I do not think we need to worry too much. The Zaporizhjia plant is the largest in Europe, but it is shut down.

Emmanuelle Galichet, nuclear researcher at Lyon 1 University

Romain Lemaresquier

Ukraine has been alarmist. "The world is once again on the brink of a nuclear disaster," because the nuclear power plant, the largest in Europe, "has lost its source of cooling" and "this danger is now increasing rapidly," lamented the adviser to the Ukrainian presidency Mykhailo Podoliak, in a message to journalists. The Ukrainian operating company, Ukrhydroenergo, estimated that the reservoir of the dam "should be operational during the next four days", but its level is decreasing worryingly.

The management of the plant, installed by the Russian occupation in the area, for its part assured that the situation was under control. "Right now, there is no security threat. Five blocks are stopped cold, one is 'hot stopped,'" director Yuri Chernichuk said on Telegram.

The damage to the dam "is currently causing a decrease of about five centimetres per hour," IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi confirmed in an address to the Board of Governors meeting this week in Vienna.

Towards an ecological disaster?

One hundred and fifty tons of engine oil spilled into the Dnieper on Tuesday, Ukrainian officials said. "There is also a risk of further oil leaks, which has a negative impact on the environment," Daria Zarivna, press adviser to the head of Ukraine's presidential administration, Andriy Iermak, said on Telegram. In a statement, the Ukrainian presidency had earlier Tuesday quantified this "additional leakage risk" at "more than 300 tons". On Telegram, Andriï Iermak denounced "ecocide", a crime against the environment, on the part of Russia.

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam raises fears of significant consequences for the fauna and flora of this southern part of Ukraine. "Environmental damage is of particular concern," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said. "Entire ecosystems face long-term and irreversible damage from flooding.

Obvious strategic interest

The Kakhovka Dam is also used for many industries. Its function is absolutely essential in peacetime, and in wartime, it is a crucial infrastructure for the Russians, since it ensures the supply of water to Crimea, and for the Ukrainians, who could have used it to cross the Dnieper.

From a strategic point of view, the flooding of the entire area downstream of the dam could complicate the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which is why the Ukrainian authorities accuse Russia of having deliberately destroyed the dam.

«

For the defense, it is obviously the Russians who have an interest [in carrying out this attack, Editor's note]. This allows them to widen the anti-tank ditch that the Dnieper represents and therefore, to guard on the left of their device, I was going to say from the Black Sea to Zaporizhzhia, so that the Ukrainians cannot attack in that region. " said General Dominique Trinquand, former head of the French military mission to the UN.

In October 2022, as fighting raged in southern Ukraine, President Zelensky had already accused Moscow's forces of "mining" the dam and units of the plant. At the same time, Volodymyr Zelensky, notes that by undermining the hydroelectric plant, the Russians "deliberately dealt a blow to the inhabitants of occupied Crimea."

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