New satellite images show that the gigantic reservoir behind the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine, which was destroyed earlier this month, no longer exists. Only the Dnieper River, some tributaries and some small lakes in the area remain.
Video footage and photos from the scene also show a desert-like landscape where the huge water reservoir – the largest in volume in Ukraine – once stood. Statistics from the specialist German company ‘Statista’ show that the water level at the end of May was 17 meters above sea level, the highest since the beginning of 2020. After the dam burst, the volume dropped rapidly.
The dam in the occupied city of Nova Kakhovka collapsed on Tuesday, June 6. As a result, millions of cubic meters of water flowed in the direction of the city of Kherson, about 60 kilometers away. Settlements and nature were flooded, drinking water became polluted. At least 17,000 residents had to be evacuated in a matter of hours. The consequences for electricity and gas supplies were felt as far away as Crimea.
The breach has already claimed at least 62 lives. This is evident from the latest figures from the Ukrainian government and the Russian occupation forces. 41 people were killed in Russian-occupied territory, and 21 in Ukrainian-controlled regions. The actual death toll is likely to be even higher.
The Ukrainian army suspects that 500 people have been killed in the town of Oleshky alone. The Russian army would only have evacuated people with a Russian passport. Meanwhile, it remains difficult for rescue workers and international observers to work in areas under Russian control. International NGOs are welcome in the areas under the control of the Ukrainians.
Environmental disaster
Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the collapse. “Kiev can now more easily conduct operations on the drier terrain upstream along the Dnieper,” Moscow said. President Zelensky, on the other hand, accused the enemy of having caused the “biggest European environmental disaster in decades”.
Norsar, the Norwegian Institute of Seismology, observed an “explosion” in Kakhovka just before the dam broke. “We are sure there was an explosion,” said Ben Dando. The measurement shows that the explosion had a force “between 1 and 2”. “That is not a weak explosion”, he adds.
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