Almost nothing remains of one of the largest dams in Ukraine. Located near Kakhovka, in the south of the country, the building was destroyed on Tuesday, June 6, in circumstances which kyiv and Moscow continue to discuss. Ukraine, which had already accused Russia of having mined the building that had come under its control at the start of the invasion, claims that it blew it up to curb its military operations. Moscow, for its part, denounces a “sabotage” Ukrainian and argues that the dam collapsed from a bombardment, a theory that Volodymyr Zelensky brushes aside as “physically impossible”
In the aftermath of the disaster, satellite images make it possible to visualize the extent of the damage, as well as the consequences downstream.
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Two images of the dam, taken by satellite on Sunday and then Tuesday, show that more than half of the dam itself has disappeared. On the right, we see what remains of the adjoining hydroelectric power station, part of the buildings of which have been swept away, the rest having fallen into the waves of the Dnipro river. According to the Ukrainian operator Ukrhydroenergo, it is inside the plant that the explosion took place.
Evacuations on both sides
Downstream, the consequences are serious. According to kyiv, 80 localities near the banks of the Dnipro river were threatened with flooding, and the water level rose gradually on Tuesday. The Ukrainian public prosecutor estimated that more than 40,000 the number of inhabitants in the flood zone, 17,000 on the western bank, under Ukrainian control, and 25,000 on the eastern bank, held by the Russian army. Evacuations were carried out on both sides.
In Kherson, the major city in the region, recaptured from the Russian army by Ukraine in November, the Korabelny district saw the water level rise by 3.5 meters, flooding 1,000 houses, according to the chief deputy cabinet of the Ukrainian presidency. The consequences are evident in satellite images.