The Nova Kakhovka Dam on the Dnieper River in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine exploded early Tuesday morning, and there is a fear of flooding dozens of villages. The governor of Kherson province ordered the evacuation of settlements on the west bank of the Dnieper River and warned that the water could reach a dangerous height within five hours. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered an emergency meeting.
Video from a monitoring camera overlooking the dam that’s been circulating on social media shows the flash of an explosion and the collapse of a portion of the dam.
#BREAKING: The moment that the Nova Kakhovka dam was blown up was purportedly captured on video. If this footage is real, it would certainly refute claims that there was no explosion. pic.twitter.com/GMaarExZEn
— Ukraine Front Lines (@EuromaidanPR) June 6, 2023
Both sides blame each other for the explosion that damaged the dam. According to the Russians, the water level in the area has risen by 2.5 meters since the dam’s bombing.
Russians have blown up the Nova Kakhovka water dam. In a few hours the whole downstream area will be flooded on both sides of the Dnipro River. Ukrainian authorities have started evacuation measures.#Ukraine #Dnipro #Kherson pic.twitter.com/SWsAS2pXdi
— (((Tendar))) (@Tendar) June 6, 2023
According to Ukraine Front Lines, the volume of water in the Nova Kakhovka reservoir is about equal to the Great Salt Lake in Utah.
The regional governor, Oleksandr Prokudin, announced that “within five hours the water will reach a critical level.”
President Zelenskyy will hold an emergency meeting this morning, in response to the dam’s bombing, according to Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council. Zelenskyy’s chief of staff Andriy Yermak called the destruction of the dam an “ecocide,” and warned that the flood threatened the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
