Novakahouka Dam Destruction: Urgent Evacuation in Kherson State Due to Russian Terrorist Attack

An emergency evacuation order was issued after the Novakahouka dam in Kherson, southern Ukraine, which is occupied by Russia, was destroyed on the night of the 5th. The Ukrainian military blamed Russia for the attack, while a Russian official said it was “because of a serious terrorist attack”. According to the US (CNN) and Russian news agencies on the 6th, a drone video of a large-scale crack in the Novakahouka dam occurring the night before and water pouring down spread on social media. The Ukrainian Southern Operations Command confirmed the destruction of the dam the next day, saying on Facebook that it was “assessing the extent of the dam’s destruction and calculating the possible flood area.” President Volodymyr Zelensky called an emergency safety meeting on the 6th. Ukraine’s Ministry of Internal Affairs designated 10 areas, including Mykolaivka, as dangerous areas for police and paramedics to help residents evacuate.

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Russia initially denied the destruction of the dam, but later admitted it again. On the 6th, Russian-appointed Mayor of Novakahouka, Vladimir Leoniev, said that part of the Novakahouka dam had been destroyed by an airstrike that occurred overnight. “Around 2:00 a.m. that day, several repeated attacks were made on the Novakahouka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), destroying the sluice valves, and as a result, water from the Novakahouka Reservoir began pouring uncontrollably downstream,” he said. Earlier, on the same day, he denied it to the Russian state-run (RIA) news agency, saying, “Destroying the dam is nonsense,” but soon admitted the fact. “The degree of destruction of the hydroelectric power plant is very serious,” the mayor told reporters that day, “recovering it will require similar efforts to rebuilding it from scratch.” Ukrainian forces claimed that Russia blew up the dam. Ukrainian-appointed military and administrative chief of Kherson province, Oleksandr Prokudin, said on Telegram: “Russian forces have committed another terrorist act. They blew up the Novakahouka hydroelectric power plant,” he said. “In five hours, the water will reach dangerous levels.” Prokudin urged residents east of the Dnipro to “leave the danger zone immediately”. “Russia is responsible for the lack of drinking water for residents of southern Kherson and Crimea and for the possible destruction of the biosphere in settlements,” said Andriy Ermak, chief of staff of the Office of the President of Ukraine, on Telegram. claimed. He explained that it was difficult to establish who was responsible for the dam’s destruction. Analysts who have been concerned that a dam collapse could occur during the fighting said the rapid flow in the video could cause major destruction to the city of Kherson and other densely populated areas along the Dnipro River. The news agency quoted a paramedic as saying that the flooding could inundate around 80 settlements and that the dam could gradually ‘cascade down’. Reporter Kim Mi-hyang aroma@hani.co.kr