Two years after the Kakhovka HPP explosion: the scale of the environmental disaster
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- Darina Melnychuk
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12:05, 06 June, 2025
The aftermath of the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. Photo: LibkosOn 6 June 2023, Russian troops blew up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. This caused one of the largest environmental disasters in modern Ukraine.
According to the State Ecological Inspectorate of the South-Western District, the flooding covered more than 620 square kilometres of land, with 333,000 hectares of protected areas and 11,294 hectares of forest under water.
The year 2023 fish population was also completely destroyed, and freshwater species that had been transported to the sea died from high salinity. More than 50 nature reserve sites, including seven areas of the Emerald Network, suffered significant damage.
In addition, the death toll of dolphins has increased dramatically - dozens of dead animals were found in the first week after the breakthrough alone, and the overall cetacean mortality rate increased 2.2 times.
Chemical pollution and habitat destruction have radically changed the course of the Dnipro River.
Out of 381 drinking water samples taken in Mykolaiv region, 297 did not meet sanitary and chemical standards and 176 did not meet microbiological standards. The potential organic load from dead biomass is estimated at 200-500 thousand tonnes.
Without the Kakhovka reservoir, irrigation of the steppe regions, energy, shipping and drinking water supply in at least three regions are under threat.
As a reminder, new satellite images of the Kherson region, including the Kakhovka HPP, have been posted on Google Maps. The images dated 2020 show a filled reservoir, while the 2024 images show huge shrunken and sometimes completely dried up areas that have already been covered with vegetation.
Consequences of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station explosion for Mykolaiv region
The news of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station dam explosion became known at dawn on 6 June 2023. In a matter of hours, villages and towns in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions were flooded. In particular, the water passed through 13 settlements of the Snihuriv community.
On 9 June, it was reported that the water had risen by 6 metres. It took several weeks for it to recede.
After the disaster, environmental activists, with the support of the Ukrainian Scientific Centre for Ecology, conducted a study to analyse the state of the water bodies after the blast. Samples were taken in the town of Snihurivka and the village of Afanasivka, which were completely cut off by water.
More than 7 bridges in the Snihurivka community were destroyed or demolished by the water. In addition, 375 houses were flooded.
In March 2024, environmental activists, together with the Ukrainian Scientific Centre for Marine Ecology, conducted the fourth environmental mission to investigate the consequences of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station explosion.