The Kakhovka Dam in Ukraine

Latest Context

On the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine, The Kakhovka Dam was a major hydroelectric power plant and reservoir. On June 6th, 2023, due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, it was destroyed in an explosion which resulted in massive flooding and a humanitarian crisis.

Key Facts About Kakhovka Dam

• Introduction: As a part of the Soviet Union’s desire, the Kakhovka Dam was built in 1956 on the Dnipro River which is also known as the Dnieper River in order to harness its potential for irrigation, power generation and navigation.
• It is 3.2 kilometres long and 30 meters tall having a reservoir that covered 2,155 square kilometers and was holding 18 cubic kilometres of water when it was fissured. It is one of the biggest dams in Europe. It used to supply water to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is under Russian control, the Crimean Peninsula, which Russia annexed in 2014.

Ongoing Issue

• Due to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, an explosion took place inside the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station that resulted in the fissuring of the dam which caused an inundation the dozens of towns and villages on both sides of the river that resulted in the displacement of thousands of people and damaging infrastructure, crops and livestock.
• Explosion in this dam also resulted in an increase in the water level of the Dniprovska Gulf, a bay of the Black Sea near Kherson City, which in turn threatening coastal areas with erosion and salinization. Additionally, it also cut off electricity to millions of people and disrupted water supplies in Crimea and Zaporizhzhia.

Impact on the Russia-Ukraine War:

• Environmental and Social Impact: This explosion caused the high flood has led to millions of people homeless, and damage to the streets and businesses. Due to high concerns which are the result of this explosion, emergency crews are evacuating the whole region. In addition, it also raised concern because of the cooling systems at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and the water supply to Crimea.
• Evacuation Efforts: There are about 22,000 people in Russian-controlled areas and 16,000 people in critical zones in Ukrainian-held territory that are at risk which is causing high difficulty for emergency crews to evacuate the whole affected region.

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