Kakhovka HPP disaster goes beyond Ukraine's borders – UN assessment

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a Rapid Environmental Assessment of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam by the Russians.

Source: Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, at a briefing

The message states that the breach of the Kakhovka dam in June 2023 is a large-scale environmental disaster that goes beyond the borders of Ukraine.

"The magnitude of which [the disaster] might not be clear for years or even decades to come," – the UN states.

The assessment indicates that while the flooding downstream caused significant environmental loss and damage, the situation upstream from the dam is even more significant.

"The magnitude of the disaster might not be clear for years or even decades to come."

The assessment emphasises that the events led to the release of chemical pollutants – in particular, machine oil and liquid fertilisers, since a significant number of chemical storage facilities are located in the flood zone.

"This could negatively impact fauna and flora, as well as residents, in the affected area," the message reads.

Background: 

• The Russian occupiers blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on the morning of 6 June 2023. 
• The dam and the turbine hall were completely destroyed. It was reported that the hydroelectric power plant could not be repaired. However, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later stated that Ukraine would repair the Kakhovka dam.
• The Russians’ blowing up of the Kakhovka dam caused the flooding of dozens of settlements, human casualties and an environmental disaster. The Kakhovka Reservoir had gone dry. Entire districts were left without a drinking water supply. Kherson Oblast is still struggling with the aftermath of the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP.

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