Sustained flooding caused by the destruction of a dam in Ukraine will “disrupt farming activities, damage livestock and fisheries, and bring widespread longer-term consequences”, according to the United Nations (UN).
Video footage of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power-plant dam yesterday (Tuesday, June 6) showed water surging through the structure built in the Soviet era.
Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths said this “is possibly the most significant incident of damage to civilian infrastructure since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022”.
Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the dam which is located in a Russian-controlled area on the frontline of the war in the Kherson region. However, Russia is blaming Ukraine for the incident.
“The United Nations has no access to independent information on the circumstances that led to the destruction in the hydroelectric power-plant dam.
“Yet, international humanitarian law is very clear: Installations containing dangerous forces, such as dams, must receive special protection precisely because their destruction can cause severe loss for the civilian population,” Griffiths said.
Ukraine
Severe flooding caused by the destruction of the dam has led to the evacuation of thousands of people from their homes, threatened drinking water supplies, destroyed newly planted crops and caused environmental devastation.
The incident also led to concerns about Europe’s largest nuclear facility at Zaporizhzia, but “no immediate threat has been reported”.
The UN is working with the Ukrainian government to deliver urgent humanitarian assistance to over 16,000 affected people.
“We are extremely concerned about people in affected areas that we are currently unable to reach,” Griffiths said.
The dam is a key source of agricultural irrigation in southern Kherson and the Crimean Peninsula.
“This is a massive blow to a food production sector which is already significantly damaged,” Martin Griffiths told the UN Security Council on Ukraine.
The incident caused wheat and corn prices to spike yesterday.
Flooding
Griffiths said that the “sheer magnitude” of the catastrophe will only become clear in the coming days, but it is already clear that it will have “grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine”.
Ukrainian authorities report that at least 40 settlements are already flooded or partially flooded in Kherson.
The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine is estimating that thousands of hectares of agricultural land will be flooded.
Griffiths said that the UN is “particularly concerned” about the risk of flood waters dislodging mines, putting people into “further and unpredictable danger”.
Ukraine estimates that at least 30% of the country is now contaminated with mines.
UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres said that the destruction of the dam was another example of the horrific price of war on people.
“Attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure must stop,” he said.