Kakhovka dam cannot be restored – Ukraine’s Interior Ministry

Ukraine's Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko said that the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, destroyed by Russian forces in June, cannot be restored, as 11 out of 28 spans of the dam are wiped out.

The minister brought up this issue during the meeting with foreign diplomats while discussing President Volodymyr Zelensky's Peace Formula.

As a result of the terrorist attack, 11 spans of the upper part of the dam out of 28 were destroyed. 150 tons of oil leaked from the HPP's engine room, the press service reports.

The destruction flooded not only populated areas but also fuel stations, warehouses, and an oil refinery, Greenpeace says in its report.

At least 150 tons of engine oil leaked into the Dnipro River, and more than 300 tons may still spill into the river, as 80 settlements were flooded. At least 34 people were killed, and 28 others were injured.

As of today, 39 people are still missing in Ukraine-controlled territory, the minister stressed. The explosion also left nearly 700,000 Ukrainians without access to drinking water.

Ukrainian volunteers evacuated 4,000 people and hundreds of pets from the flooded areas. During the rescue operation, Russian troops repeatedly opened fire on civilians, the Interior Ministry says.

Klymenko thanked the partner countries for their assistance worth around $4 million. The donated equipment helped to eliminate the most obvious consequences.

Rubryka made its points on whether it is possible to accept a new reality without the Kakhovka HPP.

The flooding receded, but Ukraine will be dealing with the consequences for years to come. In addition to thousands of tons of agricultural products in southern Ukraine being destroyed by water, many areas were left without irrigation.

This will have a significant impact on farmers in the Ukraine-controlled bank of the Kherson region, who only this year made their first attempts to recover from the occupation, as well as farmers in Mykolaiv, Dnipro, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

As Rubryka reported, on the night of June 6, Russian invaders blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, located a few kilometers from the temporarily occupied city of Nova Kakhovka, Kherson region.

As a result of the dam's destruction, the water in the Kakhovka reservoir began to fall rapidly, threatening to flood.

Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson military administration, reported that the evacuation of civilians from dangerous areas had begun after Russian forces blew up the dam. Eight settlements and one micro-district of Kherson were entirely or partially flooded.