Russian War Against Ukraine: Energy Dimension | DiXi Group Alert – Emergency Issue (The explosion of Kakhovka HPP)
Summary
— On the night of 6 June, Russian occupation forces carried out an internal explosion of the structures of the Kakhovka HPP. According to Ukrhydroenergo, the operator of the hydro power plant, as a result of the internal explosion of the turbine hall, Kakhovka HPP was completely destroyed and cannot be restored.
— The water level in the Kakhovka reservoir is rapidly declining. According to the preliminary forecast, the reservoir is expected to be drained (the process of releasing stored water) within the next 4 days. About 80 settlements are in the zone of potential flooding, the majority of which are temporarily occupied. According to Oleksandr Prokudin, the head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, as of 07:30, the settlements of Tyahynka, Lvove, Odradokamyanka, Ivanivka, Mykilske, Tokarivka, Ponyativka, Bilozerka, and partially the city of Kherson are completely or partially flooded. Other settlements can also be flooded. In total, about 16,000 people on the right bank of the Kherson region are in the critical zone.
— According to the Ministry of Energy, the blowing up of the Kakhovka HPP did not directly affect the situation in the country’s power system, and there are no threats to the stability of electricity supply. Experts from the Ministry of Energy and Ukrhydroenergo are studying the potential impact of the disaster on the volume of hydro power generation. Due to the destruction of the dam, there is a risk of flooding of power facilities in the Kherson region, including Kherson CHPP. Almost 12,000 consumers in the Kherson city (Ostriv district) have already lost power due to flooding, and there may be problems with water supply.
— Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak said that the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP is the largest man-made disaster in the world in recent decades, which is killing the environment and will negatively affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in the coming years. This catastrophe will affect the irrigation system in southern Ukraine, as well as the supply of drinking water in both the southern part of Kherson region and Crimea. As a result of Russia’s actions, some settlements and the biosphere may be destroyed.
— According to the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine, the normal water level in the Kakhovka reservoir is 16 metres. A drop to 14.5 metres would lead to possible problems with irrigation in Zaporizhzhia, Dnipro and Kherson regions. A drop to 14 metres and below would leave more than 200,000 residents of the cities of Nikopol, Marhanets and the surrounding areas without drinking water. A drop to 13.2 metres and below will pose a threat of a nuclear disaster due to the cessation of cooling at ZNPP reactors. A drop to 13.1 metres and below will leave another 1 million Ukrainians without drinking water. A massive pestilence of fish, birds and other species of fauna will begin, which will threaten the epidemiological situation in the Black Sea region. A drop to 13 metres would leave 40,000 residents of the town of Pokrov without access to drinking water. Lowering to 12.7 metres and below will lead to an environmental catastrophe – the destruction of biodiversity not only in the Kakhovka reservoir but also in the surrounding areas.
