KHERSON – Since Russia’s full-scale war began, first came eight months of terror under occupation, then came seven months of intense shelling across the river, then came the river itself to Kherson. Over 24 hours after Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and its massive dam over the
In a June 8 address to the world's environmental protection community, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia needs to bear full responsibility for the ecocide it caused through the Kakhovka dam destruction.
The ex-commander of the Polish Land Forces Waldemar Skrzypczak told Ukrinform on June 8 that the Western military has "no doubt" that Russia was behind the Kakhovka disaster.
On June 8, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg called on the members of the Alliance to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine in the wake of the Kakhovka dam disaster.
The flooded Dnipro River carries mines and other types of unexploded ordnance to Odesa's seaside, Governor Oleh Kiper warned the city's residents on June 8.
According to the State Emergency Service, 2,339 people, including 120 children, were evacuated from the flooded areas of Kherson Oblast by June 8, 8:45 local time.
Satellite images shared by Planet Labs show the massive extent of the damage caused by the breach of the Kakhovka dam on June 6.
As a result of the Kakhovka dam destruction, the Dnipro River will not be navigable downstream of the city of Zaporizhzhia "for a long time," Shipping Administration Head Yevhenii Ihnatenko said on June 8. This will effectively block Ukrainian exports through the Dnipro River.
Ukraine and the United Nations (UN) agreed that the UN would deploy personnel to the flood-affected left bank of the Dnipro River, occupied by Russia. The UN workers will provide aid and conduct evacuations, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry announced on June 8.
Editor’s note: For this story, we spoke to people living or having family in the Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine. For their safety, they are identified by first name only. After destroying the Nova Kakhovka dam and stranding thousands of Ukrainians in the catastrophic flood zone, Russians prevented people in
International organizations, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, must begin rescue efforts in the occupied parts of flooded Kherson Oblast, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 7.
Key developments on June 7: * Dam explosion floods dozens of settlements in Kherson Oblast * Over 10,000 hectares of farmland expected to be flooded in the south, ministry warns * Risk of cholera after Kakhovka dam explosion, Health Ministry warns * General Staff: Russian forces block evacuation routes from flooded occupied territories
Around 20,000 people will have to be resettled because of the floods caused by the Kakhovka dam destruction, U.S. State Department official Vedant Patel said at a June 7 press briefing.
Yevhen Ryshchuk, the exiled mayor of the Russian-occupied Oleshky, Kherson Oblast, reported on the first victims of the Kakhovka dam disaster on June 7. According to the latest information, three people drowned.
The floods caused by the Kakhovka dam destruction have reached Mykolaiv Oblast with at least 13 settlements under threat, Governor Vitalii Kim said on June 7.
The water level in Kherson has already reached 5.51 meters, Ukrinform reported on June 7, citing the State Emergency Service. The city was partially flooded after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam the day before.
Ukraine's international partners have provided $170 million in assistance following the Kakhovka dam disaster, and several EU countries have promised further aid.
Due to Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka dam, 29 settlements in Kherson Oblast have been flooded, Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko announced on June 7. Over 1,800 people have been evacuated thus far.
On the morning of June 6 at around 2:50 a.m., an explosion erupts at the center of the Kakhovka dam, leading to its destruction and the flooding of much of Kherson Oblast. Having been mined by Russia over the course of last year and timed exactly to disrupt
Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, will lead an IAEA mission to the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant after the Kakhovka dam demolition.
The European Union will help Ukraine with the aftermath of the Kakhovka dam breach, EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on June 6.
At least 1,335 houses were flooded on the Ukraine-controlled west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin reported on June 6 around 7:30 p.m. local time.
The flood peak from the spilling of the Kakhovka Reservoir will happen in the morning of June 7, Ukraine's state-owned energy company Ukrhydroenergo wrote on June 6.
The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam in southern Ukraine will not prevent the liberation of Russia-occupied territories, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 6, following a meeting with the top military and government officials.
Two city districts in Kherson have been flooded and over 600 residents have been evacuated, Kherson City Military Administration Head Roman Mrochko announced in the afternoon of June 6.
At least 71 houses and three bridges were flooded on the west bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast, Governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on June 6 around 4:30 p.m. local time. More water continues to flood towns and villages in the oblast.
Wheat prices rose by 3% after the explosion of the Kakhovka dam on June 6, according to the market data tracking service Barchart Trader. The price is now at $6,4 per bushel.
A zoological garden in occupied Nova Kakhovka, "Kazkova Dibrova," is completely flooded due to the explosion at the Kakhovka dam, the animal rights organization UAnimals said on June 6.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry urged the countries of the G7 and the European Union to immediately consider new sanctions against Russia after the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam on June 6.
National Security and Defense Council chief Oleksii Danilov said that Ukraine had nothing to do with the explosion at the Kakhovka dam, Ukrinform reported on June 6. All Russia’s claims about Ukraine's involvement are nonsense, he added.
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam can lead to serious humanitarian, ecological, economic, military, and legal consequences. The demolition was carried out by Russian forces in southern Ukraine in the early hours of June 6. And it’s among the most dramatic violations of the Geneva Conventions in recent decades.
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