Minister: Kakhovka disaster causes over $1.5 billion in damage so far
The collapse of the Kakhovka dam has already caused more than $1.5 billion worth of damage to Ukraine, according to the Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilets. However, this number will continue to grow, Strilets said on June 21.
“According to preliminary forecasts, the losses could reach hundreds of billions of hryvnias.”
"Some ecosystems have been lost forever. They will never recover. We have lost endemic species of animals. These are species that existed only in one place on earth — in the south of Ukraine. We have lost half of the forest in this area," Strilets said.
According to him, a plan for the restoration of the region affected by the demolition of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam and the consequent flooding is currently being prepared on behalf of the president. The Ecology Ministry, together with scientists, is looking for ways and developing concrete steps to preserve ecosystems.
According to Ukraine's Agriculture Ministry, the collapse of the Kakhovka dam has caused Hr 150-160 billion ($4.1-$4.3 billion) worth of damage to Ukraine's water reclamation system and canals.
After Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka dam on June 6, Ukraine's southern Kherson Oblast has suffered massive floods and a large-scale humanitarian crisis.
Anastasiia Lapatina
