The collapse of the Kakhovka dam has caused 150-160 billion hryvnias ($4.1-$4.3 billion) worth of damage to Ukraine's water reclamation system and canals, Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry announced on June 12.
Unless the water supply is restored, agriculture will be impossible in southern Ukraine "in the near future," the ministry noted.
According to the ministry, the Kakhovka reservoir had been the source of irrigation for 94% of irrigation systems in Kherson Oblast, 74% in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and 30% in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The ministry added that the reservoir had provided irrigation for 584,000 hectares of land. In particular, the Kakhovka Main Canal supplied 326,000 hectares, and the North Crimean Canal 39,700 hectares.
In Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Dnipropetrovsk oblasts, the reservoir provided water for the irrigation of 218,300 hectares.
The Kakhovka dam collapsed on June 6, sparking a humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities say the dam was blown up by Russian forces to prevent a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
The breach caused the draining of the Kakhovka reservoir, leaving only 28% of its water by the morning of June 12.
The floods cost the lives of at least 10 people and 42 are considered missing.
In Kherson Oblast, 2,743 residents have been evacuated and 46 settlements have been flooded, while in Mykolaiv Oblast, 31 settlements were impacted and 982 people have been evacuated.
In Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, almost 165,000 households in 32 settlements have been left without water supply.
Dinara Khalilova
