The Kakhovka dam collapse floods villages, endangers crops and threatens drinking water supplies|@ZelenskyyUa|via Twitter
The collapse of the Kakhovka dam over the country’s largest river in Ukraine destroyed the homes of at least 16,000 people as thousands more face catastrophic risks due to the incoming flood waters.
The dam collapse floods villages, endangers crops and threatens drinking water supplies. The dam explosion also risks a shortage of cooling water for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant that lies upstream. The plant has been shut for months.
While the reason for the dam explosion is unknown, Moscow and Kyiv blame each other for the destruction.
Social media videos show flooded villages in Kherson Oblast, forcing people to flee. More than 40,000 people from both sides need evacuation as communities are submerged in the Kherson Region.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country’s prosecutors have approached the International Criminal Court regarding the dam incident, alleging Russian forces caused the explosion.
The Soviet-era dam is a part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power project, which now falls within Russian-controlled territory.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the dam collapse has, “monumental humanitarian, economic, and environmental consequences.”
For the protection of civilians during a war, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 banned targeting dams.