The consequences of Russia's destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast will be clear in about a week when the water level in flooded areas goes down, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on June 6, as reported by Ukrinform news outlet.
"We understand there will be big problems, and some are already evident… When the water recedes, it will be clear what is left there and what will happen next," Zelensky told a press conference.
According to the Ukrainian president, the dam destruction will cause large issues with drinking water even for those areas that haven't been flooded, including in Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts.
All services were prepared for a possible Russian blowup of the Kakhovka dam as Ukraine's military intelligence had previously warned about this threat, added Zelensky.
"Everyone knew that Russia, together with its collaborators, mined the dam - this is the information we had, without any particular details... If it was mined, then accordingly, there may be an explosion, and there will be consequences - humanitarian, social, and economic ones. And now it's happening," he told reporters.
Russian troops destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam on the Dnipro River on the morning of June 6, sparking a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine.
According to Kherson Oblast Governor Oleksandr Prokudin, at least 71 houses and three bridges were flooded on the west bank of the Dnipro River as of 4:30 p.m. local time. Around 16,000 people's homes in Kherson Oblast are reportedly located in "critical risk" zones.
Evacuation from the affected settlements is ongoing, with 1339 residents having already been rescued as of 4:00 p.m., as reported by Ukraine's Interior Ministry.
Ukraine's Foreign Ministry called on the G7 countries and the European Union to immediately consider new sanctions against Russia after the dam's destruction.
Igor Kossov
(Updated: )
