“Kakhovka dam explosion is the largest act of ecocide since beginning of full-scale war” – Ukraine’s environment ministry

The destruction of the Kakhovka HPP and the damage caused to the environment is the largest ecocide since the beginning of the full-scale Russian war in Ukraine.

It will have catastrophic consequences for the environment, says deputy minister of the Environment Oleksandr Krasnolutsky. 

It is difficult to single out something (to which the most damage was done – ed.) because the damage is done to the environment in this territory. This is the biggest ecocide that has happened in Ukraine since the beginning of the full-scale war, Krasnolutsky said.

The Kakhovska reservoir and the surrounding areas were a migration route for birds, a place for their nesting. After the detonation of the hydroelectric power plant, a great deal of damage was caused to biodiversity. In the area that is now flooded by water from the reservoir, there are national natural resources that were created to preserve red-listed plants and animals.

They are currently under threat of destruction. It will be necessary to understand what happened to it and whether these species, which are unique for the southern region of Ukraine, will continue to exist," Krasnolutsky said.

Also, damages were caused to water resources, into which chemicals, fuel, and lubricants got; soils that erode under high water pressure.

The damage caused to the reserve fund, lands, etc., is recorded as well.

He emphasized that the damage is measured in Ukraine losing certain types of flora and fauna. However, calculations are still being made.

We have to understand some things. The first aspect is that not only the right-bank territory, which is under the control of the Ukrainian authorities, is flooded. The left-bank part is also flooded, which is temporarily occupied, and where we do not have access to today. The water is still flowing, and access to some places impossible. Therefore, it is still impossible to calculate the damage. In addition, there are active hostilities, constant shelling, and it is very difficult to calculate the damage there, the minister said.

On the instructions of Ukraine's environmental minister, contact is established with all governmental and non-governmental international environmental organizations to condemn Russia's actions.

We will demand Russia's exclusion from environmental conventions, because a country that takes such actions cannot be a member of environmental agreements, said Krasnolutsky.