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Kakhovka Dam: What happened to the dam in Ukraine?

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Why in News?

  • Floodwaters were released throughout the conflict area after a massive Soviet-era dam – Kakhovka Dam – on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine was breached.
  • While Russian officials presented inconsistent versions, some claiming it was destroyed by Ukrainian shelling and others claiming it collapsed as a result of earlier damage, Ukraine claimed Russia had demolished it. 

What’s in Today’s Article?

  • The Kakhovka Dam
  • What Happened to the Kakhovka Dam?
  • What is the Impact?
  • How will this Affect the War between Russia and Ukraine? 

The Kakhovka Dam:

  • The dam [30 metres/98 feet tall and 3.2 km long] was built in 1956 on the Dnipro River as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.
  • The reservoir ((18 km3 – a volume equal to the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah) also supplies water to the –
    • Crimean Peninsula, which Russia claims to have annexed in 2014, and
    • Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also under Russian control.

 What Happened to the Kakhovka Dam?

  • According to Ukraine, Russia was responsible.
  • Some Russian-installed officials blamed that Ukraine shelled the dam.
  • Other Russian-installed officials said no attack took place. The dam collapsed due to earlier damage and the pressure of the water.

What is the Impact?

  • On people: Evacuations of civilians began on both sides of the front line. 22,000 people living across 14 settlements in Ukraine’s southern Kherson region are at risk of flooding.
  • On Crimea:
    • The Crimean Peninsula is dependent for fresh water on the canal.
    • Ukraine previously blocked water supplies to Crimea after Russia annexed the peninsula in 2014, causing water shortages in the region.
    • There is a risk that water levels in the North Crimea Canal, which carries fresh water to the peninsula from the Dnipro River, could fall after rupture of the dam.
  • On the nuclear plant:
    • The Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is Europe’s largest, gets its cooling water from the reservoir.
    • It is located on the southern side, now under Russian control.
    • Russia’s state nuclear energy company Rosatom said on Tuesday there was no threat to the Moscow-controlled nuclear plant.
    • The International Atomic Energy Agency – the U.N. nuclear watchdog was closely monitoring the situation but that there was no immediate nuclear safety risk at (the) plant.

How will this Affect the War between Russia and Ukraine?

  • News of the damage came after Russia claimed Ukraine had started its long-awaited counteroffensive.
  • Ukraine said that Russia’s goal was to “create obstacles” for Kyiv’s offensive to retake territory from Moscow’s forces.
  • Kyiv previously accused Moscow (denied by Russia) of mining the dam as combat.
  • However, experts are divided over the flooding’s implications for Ukrainian forces’ anticipated counteroffensive to reclaim territories captured by Russia.