war zone
Dam destruction: search for missing persons in Ukraine continues
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine is affecting drinking water supplies, food supplies and ecosystems that stretch to the Black Sea. photo
© Uncredited/AP
Thousands of people are already safe, but the search for missing people continues. According to information from London, the destruction of the Kachowka Dam is also likely to have an impact on Crimea.
After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in the war zone in southern Ukraine in the Cherson region, the search for missing persons continues. The Ukrainian Interior Ministry reports that on the right side of the Dnipro bank controlled by Kiev, 32 villages with 3,784 houses are still flooded.
The authorities had announced the previous evening that 29 people were missing. It is said that 1,400 emergency services are involved in eliminating the consequences of the flood after the dam broke. The evacuation of villages also continued on the Russian-occupied side of the bank. Thousands of people were evacuated to safety on both sides of the river in the contested area.
London: Effects felt as far as Crimea
According to British findings, the destruction of the dam is also likely to have an impact on the drinking water supply of the Russian-occupied Crimean Peninsula. According to the British Ministry of Defense, the breach of the dam has almost certainly caused severe damage to Crimea’s main source of fresh water, the North Crimean Canal. The water from the Kakhovka reservoir will soon stop flowing across the canal towards Crimea.
This will reduce the availability of fresh water in southern Kherson Oblast and northern Crimea, the British write in their daily intelligence update. However, Russia will probably meet the immediate water needs of the population with the help of reservoirs, water rationing and the supply of Russian bottled water, among other things.
Communities on both the Ukrainian-controlled and Russian-held sides of the Dnipro River are simultaneously facing a sanitation crisis with limited access to safe drinking water and an increased risk of disease.
water levels are falling
However, the Ukrainian authorities reported falling water levels. Accordingly, the high water level of the Dnipro in Cherson was 4.18 meters on Sunday morning, a good half a meter less than the previous day. The water drains into the Black Sea. The operator of the destroyed Kachowka power plant announced that the water level in the reservoir is also continuing to fall. He was therefore 9.35 meters, which was more than seven meters less than on Tuesday. The further development of the situation there is difficult to predict, it said.
The dam broke on Tuesday night. Ukraine accuses Russian troops of having mined and blown up the dam and power plant. Russia, on the other hand, claims that Ukrainian troops fired rocket launchers at the dam. Dozens of towns were flooded. Experts speak of a serious environmental disaster. So far there is talk of a total of 13 deaths on both sides of the area in which hostilities continued.