Water has returned to Kakhovka reservoir drained by Russian forces in 2023
For the first time in 70 years, the Kakhovka Reservoir is being filled up with water, which is evidenced by the Texty report.
The latest satellite images of the area show that a large part of the previously drained area of the reservoir is now covered with water.
The infographic shows how the NDWI* water index has changed from last fall (top image) to March 2024 (bottom image). This index is determined from satellite images and allows us to identify the water surface.
The spring snowmelt brought additional moisture to the lower reaches of the Dnipro.
Hryhoriy Kolomytsev, an expert of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, said there is a clear rise in the water level, which corresponds to the situation of spring flooding on the river floodplain.
In the absence of artificial regulation of water levels, today one can observe on the territory of the former Kakhovka Reservoir the same processes that occur on natural, unregulated river floodplains.
After Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on June 6, 2023, the reservoir severely drained.
The disaster area affected about 16,000 people, and about 80 settlements may be flooded the attack.
This large-scale environmental disaster caused by the destruction of the dam is an act of ecocide if it is deliberate.
Previously, Rubryka reported that in the spring, the settlements located below the Kakhovka dam may face another flood.
