A large oil spill and widespread habitat loss are among the environmental impacts from the collapse of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam
(Bloomberg) — The explosion that tore through Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam on Tuesday unleashed an enormous environmental disaster that cut freshwater and electricity supplies for millions of people, flooded dozens of towns and could ultimately burden the country’s southern region for decades.
At least 150 tons of machine oil spilled into the waters of the Dnipro River after a detonation wrecked the Soviet-era hydroelectric plant attached to one of Ukraine’s largest reservoirs. Another 300 tons of oil could leak out as the infrastructure collapses, according to a statement by the Ukrainian presidency.
“This is the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades,” Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday during an address to members of the Bucharest Nine group. “Russia has detonated a bomb of mass environmental destruction — this is an ecocide.”
In the initial hours following the collapse of the Kakhovka dam, millions of liters of water flooded at least 80 towns and villages with about 10,000 remaining residents. Floodwaters also rushed into the Lower Dnipro National Park. Spilled oil and other polluting substances that could have been sitting at the bottom of the reservoir are now making their way into these areas, potentially poisoning humans, plants and animals.
The extent of the disaster is hard to assess because water is still flowing from the reservoir, said Anna Ackerman, a board member of Ukrainian environmental nonprofit Ecoaction. Over the next few days scientists and activists expect a clearer picture as water levels stabilize and the first analysis reveals more details on the polluting materials in the water.
“We can assume all ecosystems and human settlements downstream the Dnipro River will be affected,” Ackerman said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. “Protected species and habitats in several national parks along the way are at risk.”
Destruction of the dam adds to widespread reports of habitat degradation in Ukraine since Russia launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022. At least 1.24 million hectares of land within natural reserves had been impacted by the conflict’s first year, according to a report by Greenpeace, with damages ranging from forest fires caused by missile strikes to toxic gases polluting soil and water.
Water flow along the Dnipro River had been disrupted for months as Russian armed forces occupied the dam last year. Water levels had fallen by two meters (6 feet), harming flora and fauna on the region’s floodplains. Greenpeace researchers found that sudden drying of these areas led to the mass death of molluscs, crayfish and other local species.
As Ukrainian authorities rush to evacuate civilians in the area, volunteers are also trying to save animals in distress. A video posted by Zelenskiy shows a man rescuing a dog swimming on a flooded road. Activists with an organization called UAnimals helped load cats and dogs into cars, according to a video distributed by the Ukrainian nonprofit group.
A zoo in the path of the floodwaters, Kazkova Dibrova located in the town of Nova Kakhovka, became completely inundated and of its 260 animals only the swans and ducks survived, the organization said in statement. A video on Zelenskiy’s Twitter feed shows swans swimming in what appears to be flooded streets.
–With assistance from Akshat Rathi.
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