Ukraine has accused Russian forces of detonating a large dam in southern Ukraine, leading to a deluge of floodwater that is affecting the region’s battlefield and prompting Kyiv to intensify its efforts to reclaim occupied territory. The explosion at the Kakhovska hydroelectric power plant has caused water levels to rise, posing a threat to ten villages on the western bank of the Dnipro River and putting parts of the city of Kherson at risk. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has urged people to prepare for evacuation.
While the crops themselves are not directly in danger, the price of wheat has surged by as much as 3% over concerns about supply. The destruction of the dam is seen as a significant escalation with potential dire consequences. Russia has not officially commented on the incident yet. The fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces has been escalating along the front lines as Kyiv prepares for a counteroffensive in eastern and southern Ukraine.
Ukraine has previously warned that Russia might attempt to destroy the dam to impede its advance. Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office, stated on Twitter that Russia sought to create insurmountable obstacles for Ukraine’s military by causing the flooding and that the damage to the environment would be substantial.
In addition to the dam incident, Russia conducted a wave of missile attacks on Ukraine, firing 35 cruise missiles that were intercepted by Ukrainian air defenses. Ukraine retaliated with 19 air strikes targeting Russian troop formations, command posts, an ammunition depot, and artillery positions. There were also reports of a damaged ammonia pipeline in the Kharkiv region near the border between the two countries, which Russia considers an important issue in maintaining grain shipments through the Black Sea corridor.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for an urgent meeting of Ukraine’s national security and defense council to address the dam damage. He attributed the attack to Russia and emphasized the need to expel Russian forces from Ukrainian territory. The flood zone encompasses more than 80 settlements and the city of Kherson, potentially endangering hundreds of thousands of people.
The Kakhovska hydroelectric power plant, which has been disconnected from Ukraine’s grid by Russia, supplies electricity to over three million people and is a crucial part of the country’s energy infrastructure. As the situation unfolds, evacuation efforts are underway, and authorities are working to minimize the impact on drinking water reservoirs in Crimea, which Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014.
