The flooding causes large-scale environmental disaster and may affect the operations at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant.

The Dnipro River dam of the Nova Kakhovka hydro power plant under Russian occupation in southern Ukraine was destroyed early on 6 June, an act of madness seen as Moscow’s desperate attempts to slow down the Ukrainian offensive that started two days earlier. 

The Ukrainian authorities immediately ordered mass evacuations and called on residents in the affected zones to do whatever it takes to save their lives.

Video footage shows multiple buildings of the dam destroyed and tens of thousands of tons of water rushing through the several openings, smashing dozens of villages in the way of the torrents (Mykolaivka, Olhivka, Liovo, Tiahynka, Poniativka, Ivanivka, Tokarivka, Poniativka, Prydniprovske, Sadove) and risking to flood Kherson, a city of 300,000 residents west of Nova Kakhovka.

The Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, 6 June 2023. Credit: KyivPost

There’ve been no reports yet about the number of victims.

In addition to severe damages to infrastructure and environment in the downstream areas, destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam poses threats to the operations at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant – the largest nuclear-powered plant in Europe – which is upstream and is under Russian control, too.

A Russian tank near the Zaporizhie nuclear power plant. Credit: BBC

The dam is a critical piece of infrastructure on the Dnipro River. It held around 18 cubic kilometers in the Kakhovka Reservoir. The 30-meter-high, 3.2-kilometer-long structure is one of six dams along the river and supplies water for much of southeastern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula, both of which are still under Russian occupation.

Ukraine’s President Volodimir Zelenski accused Russia or terrorism and “ecocide”, and called for an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council in Kiev. 

Russia has denied any wrongdoing at the dam and claimed that it was destroyed by Ukrainian shelling. A Russian energy official warned last May that the dam risked being overwhelmed by record-high water levels.

The Nova Kakhovka dam on the map. Credit: Google Maps

The destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam might be a template the Russians want to show their enemy what will happen if they try to recapture the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar.

In 1941, the Russians/Soviets destroyed without prior warning the Dnipro power plant dam in the city of Zaporizhie to slow down the advancing Nazi army, killing tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians and own troops in retreat. None German soldier was affected, Wehrmacht reports show.

This reporting was possible thanks to the video footage from Ukrainian and international media.

A model of the dam destruction's evolution obtained with US Army software: