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Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam

Destruction of the Kakhovka Dam
Part of the Dnieper campaign
of the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Flooding downstream from the dam
LocationKakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, Kherson Oblast, Ukraine
Coordinates46°46′40″N 33°22′13″E / 46.77778°N 33.37028°E / 46.77778; 33.37028
Date6 June 2023
between 02:00 and 02:54 (UTC+3)
Attack type
Dam breaching
WeaponsUnknown
Deaths59 reported by Russian authorities[1][2][3]
Between 200 and 300 in Oleshky according to local health workers[1]
PerpetratorsRussia is blamed by most experts[a]

The Kakhovka Dam was breached in the early hours of 6 June 2023,[4][5][6] causing extensive flooding along the lower Dnieper river, also called the Dnipro, in Kherson Oblast. The dam was under the control of the Russian military, which had seized it in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[7][8] Many experts have concluded that Russian forces likely blew up a segment of the dam to hinder the planned Ukrainian counter-offensive.[9][10] Russian authorities have denied the accusation.

The dam was about 30 m (98 ft) tall and 3.2 km (2 mi) long;[11] the breached segment was about 85 m (279 ft) long.[12] Two days after the breach, the average level of flooding in the Kherson Oblast was 5.61 m (18.4 ft), according to local officials.[13][14]

There were signs of an explosion at the time of the breach. Both Ukrainian and Russian sources reported hearing blasts from the dam's hydroelectric power station,[4][5] regional seismometers detected explosions in the area,[6][10] and a satellite detected the infrared heat signature of an explosion.[15]

Water levels in the Kakhovka Reservoir, controlled by Russia, had been rising for months and were at a 30-year high when the dam failed.[16] Thousands of residents downstream were evacuated, and floods submerged several villages in Ukrainian- and Russian-controlled areas. By 21 June, 58 people were reported to have been killed and 31 were missing.[2][3] Russian authorities officially report that 59 people drowned in total, but local health workers and a volunteer grave digger from Oleshky have told the Associated Press that the death toll was in the hundreds from that city alone, with shallow mass graves dug for the victims. According to the informants, reporting of deaths in Oleshky was hampered by interference from police beginning June 12, by relocation of bodies and by extortion of families of survivors and coercion of health care workers to misreport causes of death on death certificates, which could not be written in Ukrainian language in Russian-occupied territory or conveyed to Ukrainian authorities.[1] Flooding killed many animals and damaged farmland, homes, businesses, and infrastructure. The loss of water from the reservoir could threaten the long-term water supply to Russian-controlled Crimea and the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, but there was no immediate risk to either.

  1. ^ a b c Kullab, Samya; Novikov, Illia (28 December 2023). "Russia covered up and undercounted true human cost of floodings after dam explosion, AP investigation finds". AP News. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Russia rejects U.N. help as death toll from breached dam rises". Reuters. 19 June 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Russian official says breach of Kakhovka dam in Ukraine killed 41". Al-Arabiya. 21 June 2023. Retrieved 20 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference ISW_6June2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Insider_NovaKakhovka_residents was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference NORSAR_seismic_signals was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Vyshnevskyi, Viktor; Shevchuk, Serhii; Komorin, Viktor; Oleynik, Yurii; Gleick, Peter (4 July 2023). "The destruction of the Kakhovka dam and its consequences". Water International. 48 (5): 631–647. doi:10.1080/02508060.2023.2247679. ISSN 0250-8060.
  8. ^ Sabbagh, Dan; Borger, Julian (6 June 2023). "Thousands flee homes as collapse of dam is blamed on Russian forces". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT_internal_blast was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference The New York Times 2023 u549 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "Diagram: Ukraine's Kakhovka Hydrolectric Power Plant". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. 6 June 2023. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  12. ^ Kottasová, Ivana; Mezzofiore, Gianluca (9 June 2023). "Here are the key theories on what caused Ukraine's catastrophic dam collapse". CNN. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  13. ^ "The Kakhovka Dam disaster: Responsibility and consequences". Wilson Center. 14 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  14. ^ "Очільник Херсонської ОВА: Середній рівень підтоплення на ранок – 5,6 метра. Евакуйовано майже дві тисячі людей". Зеркало недели (in Ukrainian). 8 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  15. ^ Cite error: The named reference NYT_US_spy_satellites was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference The New York Times 2023 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).


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تدمير سد كاخوفكا Arabic Kaxovka bəndinin dağıdılması AZ Падрыў Кахоўскай ГЭС BE-X-OLD Destrucció de la presa de Nova Kakhovka Catalan Zerstörung des Kachowka-Staudamms German Destrucción de la presa de Kajovka Spanish Kahhovka paisu purustamine ET Kakhovkako presaren haustura EU نابودی سد کاخوفکا FA Kah’ovkan padon tuhoutuminen Finnish

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