On Tuesday, millions of liters of water poured through a huge break in a Russian-controlled dam, flooding a large portion of the southern Ukraine conflict zone, endangering numerous communities, and cutting off the water supply.
Nuclear Facility under Russia’s control
Russian and Ukrainian military laid the blame for the breach on one another. Both the Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility, which is also under Russian control, and the Crimean peninsula of Ukraine, which Russia annexed in 2014, receive water from the Nova Kakhovka dam, which can hold as much water as the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah.
The leader of the region, who was placed by Moscow, was quoted by the Russian news outlet RIA as claiming that 22,000 people spread out across 14 settlements in southern Ukraine’s Kherson region face a flood risk. Kherson is one of five areas that Moscow claims to have annexed, along with Crimea. Unverified videos posted on social media showed water rushing through the dam’s ruins as onlookers gasped. Within hours, the water levels climbed by meters. According to a Russian official stationed in the town of Nova Kakhovka, over 300 homes’ worth of occupants had to be evacuated on Tuesday, according to state-run news agency TASS. He predicted that the dam could not likely be repaired.
Ukraine dam supplying water to Crimea, nuclear plant is breached, unleashing floods
Suspected Russian Soldiers
Russia claimed to have suffered significant casualties and stopped a further Ukrainian advance in eastern Donetsk. Additionally, it began a new round of airstrikes against Kiev overnight. More than 20 cruise missiles were reportedly shot down by Ukraine’s air defense systems as they approached the city. The allegations could not be independently confirmed by Reuters, and it was not apparent if any of the most recent combat signaled the start of Ukraine’s eagerly awaited counter-offensive.
Russian soldiers are suspected of blowing up the 3.2 kilometers (miles) long and 30 meters (yards) tall Nova Kakhovka dam, according to the Ukrainian military’s Southern Command. It was erected on the Dnipro River in 1956.
