6 June 2023 08:47

News

Russians blew up the Kakhovka HPP dam: the results

The Odesa region is preparing to accommodate people from Kherson.

According to Yurii Kruk, the head of the Odesa District Military Administration, 1,100 places for displaced people have been prepared in the Odesa district, with more places to be prepared soon.

Serhii Bratchuk, Head of the Public Council under the Odesa Regional Military Administration, shared a video of the catastrophic results of the demolition of the Kakhovka dam.

A roof of a house washed off by the flood floats down the Dnipro River (video)

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The Odesa Regional Military Administration reports on the situation with the evacuation of people from the Kherson region due to the Kakhovka HPP disaster.

"Due to the demolition of the Kakhovka HPP and the evacuation of the civilian population from flooded areas, the Odesa region has the opportunity to accommodate 3,291 people in compact settlements in the shortest possible time. Using educational institutions and private housing sectors for lodging is being urgently worked out. We’re working in close cooperation with our colleagues from the Kherson Regional Military Administration, public organizations, and international foundations regarding evacuation, shelter, and first aid," the report says.

A hotline for evacuees has been established to respond to queries, including lodging: +38 (067) 304-91-95

A hotline is also working for reports on missing people in flooded areas of the Kherson region.

In the event that relatives or acquaintances who live in the area of the man-made disaster cannot be contacted, it should be urgently reported to the authorized hotline: 0 800 339 247. Residents of temporarily occupied territories can use Viber or WhatsApp: (095) 896-04-21.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy held an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council regarding the demolition of the structures of the Kakhovka HPP.

"I ordered to evacuate people from areas of risk and ensure that drinking water is provided to all the cities and villages that sourced water from the Kakhovka reservoir. We are doing everything we can to save people. All agencies, the military, the Cabinet, and the Presidential Office are involved," the president reported.

At the meeting of the NSDC, a set of international and security measures to hold Russia accountable for this act of terrorism was agreed upon.

Swans swim near the Palace of Culture in Nova Kakhovka (video)

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Kherson. 742 people have been evacuated by 10:00 a.m.

"The water is rising, The situation is complicated by some roads being washed off. This makes it impossible to approach some populated places. Evacuation teams are searching for other ways," The Ministry of Interior notes.

"Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam inflicting probably Europe’s largest technological disaster in decades and putting thousands of civilians at risk. This is a heinous war crime. The only way to stop Russia, the greatest terrorist of the 21st century, is to kick it out of Ukraine," Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dmytro Kuleba tweeted.

A policeman saving a dog in the Kherson region (video)

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Evacuation is underway from three assembly areas on Korabel Island in Kherson, Roman Mrochko, the head of the Kherson City Military Administration, reported. The Hydropark and Naftohavan districts have already been flooded. Bedridden people and people with reduced mobility are being taken to hospitals.

Floods in Kherson (video)

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Flooded areas in Nova Kakhovka this morning include the zoo, the lower part of the parkland, the summer cinema, and a cafe. The water has risen up to the children's playground and the Shevchenko monument of the first street parallel to the Dnipro, said Volodymyr Kovalenko, the mayor of Nova Kakhovka.

The Dnipro River water level in the Zaporizhzhia region starts to fall. The water has already subsided by 9–10 m. The fall in the water level is a threat to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Water level falling (video)

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Ukrhydroenergo says that the engine room of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up from the inside, rendering the whole plant irreparable.

The reservoir is estimated to be releasing water during the next four days.

"As of 9:00 a.m., June 6, the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir is falling rapidly, and the evacuation of people from the areas of potential flooding has started. The uncontrolled fall of the water level in the reservoir is an additional threat to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia NPP. Water from the Kakhovka reservoir is necessary for the plant to power its turbine capacitors and safety systems. The plant’s cooling pond is currently full. The Ukrainian staff at the ZNPP is monitoring all indicators," the company said.

Seven months ago, Dämmningsverket AB developed a model of what could result from the Russians blowing up the Kakhovka HPP dam.

"The destruction of the dam by Russia would be a war crime according to the Geneva Convention," the company noted.

Worst case model of a dam break at the Nova Kakhovka dam (video)

16,000 people on the western bank of the Kherson region are in the critical danger zone, with flooding already underway.

According to Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson Military Administration, the following villages were completely or partially flooded by 7:30 a.m.:

Tiagynka,
Lviv,
Vidradokamianka (the Beryslav district);
Ivanivka,
Mykilske,
Tokarivka,
Poniativka,
Bilozerka (the Kherson district),
and Korabel Island in the city of Kherson.

People from these places are being evacuated. The evacuation train from Kherson to Mykolaiv will depart from the Kherson railway station at 12:00 a.m.

Kherson. The Naftohavan district (video)

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According to Oleksandr Samoilenko, the head of the Kherson Regional Council, water will reach a critical level at around 11:00 a.m.

Meanwhile, a local zoo was flooded in Nova Kakhovka after the dam was blown up. According to unconfirmed reports, all the animals died.

The flooded zoo in Nova Kakhovka (video)

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.

"The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land. Not a single meter should be left to them, because they use every meter for terror. It’s only Ukraine's victory that will return security. And this victory will come. The terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else," he tweeted.

The ruined dam of the Kakhovka reservoir (video)

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"The blowing up of the Kakhovka dam by the Russian fascists can have a negative impact on the Zaporizhzhia NPP, but the situation is under control. Due to detonation, the water level in the Kakhovka reservoir is rapidly decreasing, which is an additional threat to the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhya NPP," Energoatom reports.

Water from the Kakhovka reservoir is necessary for the plant to power its turbine capacitors and safety systems. The plant’s cooling pond is currently full: as of 8:00 a.m., the water level was 16.6 m, which is sufficient for the plant’s needs.

The situation at the ZNPP is currently under control, and the Ukrainian staff is monitoring all indicators.

"The power supply in the Korabel district of Kherson has been turned off. In a few hours, the natural gas supply will also be cut off there," Roman Mrochko, the head of the Kherson City Military Administration, reported.