Russian attack reduces Kakhovka Reservoir to a quarter of its size
Since the Russians blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and its dam, the Kakhovka Reservoir has practically returned to being a stretch of the Dnipro River, environmental experts revealed on June 21.
The experts, from the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, have been studying the effects of the sudden draining of the reservoir, which started on June 6 with the Russians’ destruction of the Kakhovka Reservoir dam.
Scientists at the Ukrainian Hydrometeorological Institute processed spectral-zone images of the Kakhovka Reservoir provided by the European Space Agency.
Read also: Shocking photos of shallowed Kakhovka Reservoir published online
According to the images, a large part of the reservoir area now has a light brown color, which is typical for a dry surface. Not only is it devoid of water, but it has physically dried up.
In addition, scientists predict that parts of the reservoir will dry up in the dry season, but be filled with water in the wet season.
Before the dam was blown up by the Russians, the reservoir’s water surface area was 2,061 square kilometers.
As of June 20, it had shrunk to less than a quarter of that — 509.2 square kilometers.
Kakhovka HPP — What is known about the explosion
During the night of June 6, Russian forces, which have occupied the town of Nova Kakhovka for over a year, blew up the dam, completely or partially flooding downstream cities and towns along the Dnipro River, including the regional capital of Kherson.
Read also: Photos reveal drastic changes to Kakhovka Reservoir as water levels drop
At an urgent meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ordered the evacuation of at-risk areas and the provision of drinking water to towns and villages served by the affected Kakhovka Reservoir.
President Zelenskyy called Russia's attack on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and dam the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has opened an investigation on the incident under the charge of ecocide.
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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
