Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam in Ukraine's Kherson Oblast has put other energy facilities in the region at risk of flooding, in particular, the Kherson Thermal Power Plant, the Energy Ministry reported on June 6.
Almost 12,000 households in Kherson's Ostriv district have been left without electricity due to the flooding, according to the Energy Ministry. Issues with water supply are possible as well.
As a result of the Kakhovka dam explosion, the water level in the reservoir of the Zaporizhzhia Thermal Power Plant is decreasing, Ukraine's private energy company DTEK said on Telegram.
The thermal power plant has been inactive since May last year, but the reservoir is used to supply water to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant located in Enerhodar.
Kate Tsurkan
The thermal plant employees monitor the situation and are in constant contact with colleagues from Ukraine's nuclear energy company Energoatom, the DTEK added.
In general, the Dnipro cascade of the Kakhovka plant supplies water to three thermal power plants owned by DTEK. The company said the water level was being monitored on all of them, and the situation was stable.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported "no immediate nuclear safety risk at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant due to the Kakhovka dam destruction, which was confirmed by Ukraine's Energy Ministry in its latest update.
Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam across the Dnipro River on the morning of June 6, sparking a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine.
Built in 1956, the power plant is crucial to Ukraine's energy infrastructure. According to Ukraine's state hydroelectric power company, the damage caused by the breach is "impossible to repair."
Around 16,000 people's homes in Kherson Oblast are reportedly located in "critical risk" zones for flooding. According to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, 885 people have been evacuated from Kherson Oblast as of 11:00 a.m. local time and the process is ongoing.
Olena Goncharova
(Updated: )
