The collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine has raised fears of an ecological disaster. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky described the situation as an environmental bomb of mass destruction.
Water levels continued to rise on Wednesday after the Russian-occupied dam and hydropower plant collapsed on Tuesday, forcing more than 1,400 people from their homes and threatening vital water supplies as towns, villages and villages were flooded. of agricultural lands.
Kiev and Moscow have accused each other of destroying the dam, without providing concrete evidence of each other's guilt. It is not yet known if the dam was damaged intentionally or if the breach is the result of structural failure.
Zelensky, however, said Russia bears "criminal responsibility" and Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating the dam incident as a case of "ecocide."
"The consequences of the tragedy will be clear within a week. When the water recedes, it will become clear what is left and what will happen next," he said, CNN reported Wednesday.
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Concerns are now turning to risks to wildlife, farmland, settlements and water supplies from floodwaters and potential pollution from industrial chemicals and oil leaking from the hydroelectric plant into the Dnipro River.
The head of Ukraine's main hydropower production company has said that the environmental consequences will be huge.
"First of all, the Kakhovka reservoir is likely to dry up to zero, and we understand that the number of fish will gradually decrease," said Ihor Syrota, executive director of Ukrhydroenergo.
An environmental expert has warned of the potential damage the oil spill could cause.
"Only 1 liter of oil can pollute 1 million liters of water. So 150 tons will have multiple impacts on Ukraine's water resources and the environment," said Yevheniia Zasiadko, head of the Climate Department at Kyiv-based Ecoaction. "The oil spreads over the surface in a thin layer that prevents oxygen from reaching the plants and animals that live in the water," she added.
According to her, while the Dnipro River flows into the Black Sea, some of the oil will end up in the ocean, where it will affect the marine ecosystem.
The floods have already drowned 300 animals at the Nova Kakhovka Zoo, according to Ukraine's Defense Ministry.
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United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that the dam's collapse was an "ecological disaster" with the destruction of newly planted crops and massive flooding, another devastating consequence of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Before its collapse, the critical Nova Kakhovka dam was the largest reservoir in Ukraine in terms of volume.
