Around 42,000 people and 2,500 square km of land are at risk from the flooding caused by the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam, likely slowing any potential Ukrainian military advance in the Dnipro River delta.
Much of the Dnipro River delta will become inaccessible for land operations, raising suspicions that Russia deliberately sabotaged the dam to prevent an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive. However, the Kakhovka reservoir supplies the Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast and the Crimea peninsula with fresh water.
Ukraine’s President Zelensky pointed out that the only way to destroy the dam is through mining and emphasized that Russian forces have occupied the dam for over a year. The flooding has disproportionately affected the Russian-occupied side of the river.
Both sides have blamed the other for the attack, which appears to be a war crime.
