Shmyhal: Russia drains Dnipro River reservoir, endangering Ukrainians' water supply

Russian forces continue to drain water from the Kakhovka Reservoir in Kherson Oblast to deprive Ukrainians who receive water from the Dnipro River, Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a government meeting on Feb. 14.

"The enemy does not stop. Now the Russians are trying to deprive Ukrainians of access to water supply," Shmyhal said.

"After the Russians partially destroyed and deliberately opened the locks of the Kakhovka Reservoir, we are losing thousands of cubic meters of water every day."

70% of the settlements that receive water from the Dnipro may lose access to drinking water, said Shmyhal.

He added that a decrease in water storage levels can pose a threat to the functioning of the cooling systems of the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Shmyhal urged international partners to put necessary pressure on Russia or "we will face an ecological catastrophe that will have countless destructive consequences for the entire continent."