Variation #10
By Ana Paula Cordeiro
Print: Artist Proof 9/10
Frame: assemblage, paint
The Soviet Union built the Kakhovka Dam in 1956 as the last in a series of dams progressing down the Dnipro River toward the Black Sea. In the early hours of June 6, 2023, the Russians—who had seized control of the dam at the beginning of their full-scale invasion in February 2022—blew it up.(A)
Even amidst the immense damage Russia has caused since 2014, the destruction of the Kakhovka dam stands apart. The devastation has two parts. First, the resulting flood caused by the dam’s destruction killed hundreds of people and submerged over 80 towns and villages. Landmines were swept away, making them untraceable, and an unprecedented amount of pollution was carried downstream and into the Black Sea.(B)
Simultaneously, the explosion drained the reservoir and river upstream from the dam. Nearly a million people lost access to drinking water. The destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant has rendered almost 2.5 million acres of farmland unusable due to lack of water, especially in the arid Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. The North Crimean Canal, the major source of freshwater for the Crimea, was also severed by the blast and is slowly drying out.
It is estimated that over 250 wildlife and plant species face extinction as a result of the disaster. The blast damaged numerous forms of infrastructure, including roads, railway, shipping lanes, gas pipelines and communication lines. Financial losses are currently estimated at $14 billion, but this figure is expected to rise.
This event constitutes an ecocide on par with the the Chornobyl Disaster. It will take decades to fully grasp the damage, especially since some of affected areas are currently under Russian occupation. This catastrophe is yet another example of how Putin’s Russia is not seeking to liberate or occupy Ukraine, but to destroy it.
A) For more on Russia’s full-scale invasion, see Variation #4.
B) For more on landmines, see Variation #22.
See below for further reading and background.
Why the Evidence Suggest Russia Blew Up the Kakhovka Dam, The New York Times, 16 Jun 23.
One Year Since Russia Destroyed Kakhovka HPP, Ukrainian World Congress, 6 June 24.
Aftermath of the Kakhovka Dam Collapse, Wilson Center, 20 Jun 23.
Kakhovka Dam destruction inflicted US$14 billion damage and loss on Ukraine: Government of Ukraine–UN report, United Nations Ukraine, 17 Oct 23.
Dam sabotage creates Ukraine’s worst environmental disaster "since Chernobyl", Politico, 6 Jun 23.