Megadam destroyed – flood panic: ‘They let us down’

The Kakhovka Dam and adjacent hydroelectric power station are located in the town of Nowa Kakhovka in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine’s Kherson region. Russian occupation authorities have declared a state of emergency there. A day after the destruction of the mega dam, the water level in Nowa Kakhovka is gradually falling again, according to the Russian occupation authorities. The water level in the previously flooded streets is beginning to drop, the Russian-installed city administration said. Downstream, however, the water level on the banks of the Dnipro has continued to rise.

Residents sit on roofs
At least seven people have been reported missing in Nowa Kakhovka, the city’s “mayor” Vladimir Leontiev told Russia’s TASS news agency on Wednesday. In Kazkova Dibrova Zoo, all 300 animals died in the floods.

The situation is most difficult in the Korabel district of the city of Kherson, said Ukrainian President’s deputy chief of staff Oleksiy Kuleba. The water there reached a level of 3.5 meters and more than 1,000 houses were flooded. “Residents are sitting on the roofs of their houses waiting for rescue. These are Russian crimes against people, nature and life itself,” Kuleba wrote on Telegram.

The independent Russian-Latvian news portal Meduza reports that according to volunteers there are huge problems with the evacuation of residents. There is a lack of any organization, people are panicking. Entirely on their own, they sent each other tips via courier services. Often, however, there is not even a radio connection.

Serious consequences expected
UN emergency coordinator Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that the collapse of the dam will have “serious and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine on both sides of the frontline, who will lose their homes, food, clean water and livelihoods. lose.” The true magnitude of the disaster will only become clear in the coming days. According to information from the Ukrainian leadership, which cannot be independently verified, at least 150 tons of machine oil leaked into the Dnipro River. Another 300 tons of oil threatened to leak. Flora and fauna will certainly be affected as well.

Megadamm has already been attacked
It was long feared that the dam would be destroyed and the area flooded. It is not the first time he has been the target of attacks. In the autumn of 2022, for example, Ukrainian troops attacked the bridge over the dam with precision attacks and disrupted Russian supplies. Russian forces, on the other hand, had inflicted even more significant damage during controlled demolition withdrawals. Soon the bridge was no longer passable. There was particular concern when the occupiers announced the evacuation of Nowa Kakhovka in November.

Nobody wants it to be
Moscow and Kiev blame each other for the explosion. While Ukraine accuses Russia of state terrorism and compares the act to the use of a weapon of mass destruction, Moscow accuses Ukrainian troops of shelling and deliberate sabotage. Neither side has provided any evidence so far. The West also blames Russia for the crime. For NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the crime “shows once again the brutality of Russia’s war in Ukraine”. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly calls it a “war crime”.

Many deaths expected
The Kachowka dam on the Dnipro in Russian-occupied territory was largely destroyed by an explosion on Tuesday evening, in which large amounts of water escaped. Ukrainian authorities began evacuating about 17,000 people, and another 25,000 residents were to be deported from the Russian-occupied side. US government spokesman John Kirby believes the floods are likely to cause “many deaths”. Experts say the floods should reach their peak on Wednesday.