Global Courant
The dam’s breach could have a huge impact on the wider war effort in Ukraine.
LONDON — Part of a strategically vital Ukrainian dam and hydroelectric plant under Russian control has blown up as both Ukraine and Russia blame each other for the rupture.
The Nova Kakhovka Dam, which was built in 1956 and crosses the huge Dnipro River in southern Ukraine, suffered an explosion at about 2 a.m. local time at night when a torrent of water burst through the dam that had previously been more than 18 hours. cubic miles of water — comparable to the size of the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
The dam’s breach could have a huge impact on the wider war effort between Russia and Ukraine.
An insurgent president Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an emergency meeting of his National Security Council on Tuesday and blamed “Russian terrorists” for the dam’s explosion.
“The destruction of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station only confirms to the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of the Ukrainian land,” Zelenskyy said in a social media post. “Not a single meter should be left to them, because they use every meter for terror. Only Ukraine’s victory will restore security. And this victory will come. The terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything.”
Meanwhile, an estimated 16,000 residents living downriver were told to leave immediately in the aftermath of the blast, as Kherson’s governor ordered an immediate evacuation of civilians. Officials told residents they had five hours to get out, telling them to take only essential documents and directing them to buses that would take them to higher ground.
The explosion at the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, which appears beyond repair, could also affect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station, located about 100 miles upstream.
A satellite image shows the Nova Khakovka dam in the Kherson region, Ukraine, June 5, 2023.
Maxara Technologies/via Reuters
The reservoir supplies cooling water to the plant and the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was “closely monitoring” the situation around the dam, but that there was “no immediate risk to nuclear safety” for Zaporizhzhia.
In an interview with the New York Times, Ivan Plachkov, a former energy minister of Ukraine, said that all six of the nuclear reactors at the Zaporizhzhia plant have been shut down, but they still need water to dissipate the heat from the radioactive fuel left in the reactor. remains to be disposed of. nuclei.
