The tension is high: The dam burst, the area was flooded

An alarming development took place in the Russia-Ukraine war that has been going on for more than a year… An attack was carried out on the Nova Kakhovka dam, one of the main dams in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine , which is under the control of Russia.

According to the Russian news agency TASS, the Ukrainian forces announced that an attack was carried out at night. A source who spoke to TASS stated that the night was calm and no airstrikes were carried out.

However, another Russian news agency, RIA, reported that parts of the dam were damaged as a result of the armed attack. The RIA had this claim confirmed by the Moscow-appointed mayor for the region.

“Investigations into the extent of the damage, the speed and amount of overflowing water, and the areas inundated are continuing,” Russian officials said on Facebook.

WHY IS THIS DAM IMPORTANT?

The Nova Kakhovka dam, the most important dam in the region, is built on the Dnieper River and has a very large reservoir.

The dam, 30 meters high and hundreds of meters wide, was built in 1956 as an extension to the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station.

Covering a vast area, the dam not only floods Kherson, which Ukraine recaptured in 2022, but also supplies water to Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014, and the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

Breaking the dam can cause serious energy problems.