After the damage to the Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled part of Ukraine's Kherson region, water poured out of the reservoir uncontrollably on Tuesday morning. Several localities, including part of the city of Kherson, downstream of the Dnieper, are threatened by flooding. The Kherson regional administration has announced an emergency evacuation. The peak of the flood is expected around noon.

Othmara Glass

Editor in politics

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According to the Ukrainian military, the dam was blown up by Russian forces in the early hours of June 6. "The extent of the destruction, the speed and volume of the water, as well as the likely floodplains, are currently being clarified," the military said on its official Facebook page.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has convened the Security Council. In a morning address, he stressed that with such actions, the Russians once again confirm to the whole world that they should be expelled from every corner of the Ukrainian land. "Not a single meter should be left to them, because they will use every meter for their terror. Only a Ukrainian victory will bring back security. And this victory will come. The terrorists can't stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else," he said on Telegram.

In the early morning, the first videos of the damaged dam appeared on Telegram. The Moscow-appointed mayor of the Russian-occupied city of Nova Kakhovka denied this. "Everything is calm and serene, there is nothing at all," the Russian state news agency RIA Novosti quoted him as saying. He later said that only "the upper part of the power plant" had been damaged, but the dam itself was intact.

As early as last autumn, there were fears that Russian forces would try to blow up the dam during the retreat from the regional capital of Kherson. At that time, the Ukrainian army had been able to recapture part of the occupied places in the Kherson region during its counteroffensive.

The Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in southern Ukraine was captured in the initial stages of the 2022 Russian invasion. It is of strategic importance as it supplies water to the Crimean peninsula annexed by Russia and electricity to a large part of southern Ukraine. Located on the Dnipro River, the dam is one of the largest of its kind in Ukraine. In addition, the reservoir supplies cooling water to the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.