russian army blows up dam of Kakhovka HPP

In the early morning of June 6, russian occupants blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Evacuation of the local population has begun in Kherson region.

"We are currently assessing the extent of the damage, the speed and volume of water, and the likely areas of flooding. All services are in place. The situation is being monitored," said the Operational Command South (OC South) in a statement.

6:45 a.m. Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Region Military Administration, reported that the evacuation of the local population from dangerous areas started. The water is expected to reach the critical level in 5 hours.

6:58 a.m. The Kherson Region Military Administration reported that units of the National Police and the State Emergency Service of Kherson region were put on high alert to warn and evacuate civilians from potential flood zones on the right bank of the Dnipro River, namely the villages of Mykolaivka, Olhivka, Lvove, Tyahynka, Poniativka, Ivanivka, Tokarivka, Prydniprovske, Sadove, and partially the city of Kherson — Korabel Island.

NSDC Secretary Oleksiy Danilov announced that President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had ordered an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defence Council of Ukraine regarding the explosion of the Kakhovka reservoir dam.

According to Ukrainska Pravda, citing a local resident, there was only one explosion, and then the Kakhovka HPP "fell apart like a house of cards". He said that the flooding was extensive, with water already in the centre of Korsunka, and "the coastal areas being washed away".

7:53 a.m. The Korabel district in Kherson has been cut off from electricity and in a few hours the gas supply will also be cut off for security reasons, the head of the Kherson City Military Administration, Roman Mrochko, reports on Telegram.

9:03 a.m. Oleksandr Prokudin informed that as of 7:30 a.m., such settlements as Tyahynka, Lvove, Odradokamyanka of Beryslav district, Ivanivka, Mykilske, Tokarivka, Poniativka, Bilozerka, and the Island microdistrict of Kherson city were completely or partially flooded. About 16,000 people on the right bank of Kherson region are in the critical zone.

9:25 a.m. Ukrhydroenergo stated that Kakhovka HPP was completely destroyed.

"The Kakhovka HPP was completely destroyed as a result of the explosion of the engine room from the inside. The station is not restorable. According to preliminary forecasts, the reservoir is expected to be drained within the next 4 days," the statement reads.

The uncontrolled lowering of the reservoir level is an additional threat to the temporarily occupied by russians Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant. Water from the Kakhovka reservoir is needed for the plant to receive water for turbine condensers and safety systems. The plant's cooling pond is now full. Ukrainian personnel of ZNPP are monitoring all indicators.

10:30 a.m. An investigation was launched into the russian army's destruction of the Kakhovka HPP as an act of ecocide and violation of the laws and customs of war (Article 441, Part 1 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called russia's explosion of the Kakhovka HPP a horrific war crime and probably the largest man-made disaster in Europe in recent decades.

1:04 p.m. At least 150 tons of machine oil was leaked into the Dnipro River, and there is a risk of further leakage of more than 300 tons.

3:22 p.m. The left bank of the Dnipro was more affected. On the right bank, no critical conditions have been recorded in those settlements where water is rising. In particular, Kherson has not been critically affected, but some neighbourhoods, residential sectors and streets are flooded.

No casualties have been reported.

Kakhovka HPP is important for the region's agriculture. The director of the Institute of Water Problems and Land Reclamation of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine (IWPIM), Mykhailo Yatsiuk, has previously noted that if the hydroelectric power plant is blown up, irrigation systems in southern Ukraine will be severely affected.

Approximately 10 thousand hectares of agricultural land will be underwater on the right bank of Kherson region, and several times more on the left, which is temporarily occupied by russia, Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry estimates.

The destruction of the Kakhovka HPP will turn fields in southern Ukraine into deserts as early as next year.

Without the Kakhovka reservoir, not only agrarians and water users will be affected, but also the sources of drinking water supply for communities.