(Kuala Lumpur, 7th June 2023) - Yesterday, the war in Ukraine took a massive turn of events as one of the two belligerents shelled each other and destroyed the Nova Kakhovka dam in the Kherson region. Russian forces are in control of the areas surrounding the dam. The dam's destruction will have massive environmental implications, as many settlements downstream will get flooded. The evacuation of the affected settlements will further exacerbate the already severe refugee crisis stemming from the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Viktoria Lytvynova, the Ukrainian Deputy Chief Prosecutor, announced that about 25,000 people in the Russian-held territory and 17,000 in the Ukrainian-held territory will need evacuation.
Nuclear Angle
The dam's destruction also raised the spectre of a possible nuclear meltdown as the Zaporizhzyia nuclear power plant draws water from the Dnieper River to cool the reactors. However, Energeatom, the Ukrainian power company operating the power plant, assured the public that the situation was under control as they had anticipated the risk and shut down most reactors beforehand. Only one reactor was in standby mode, and the current water reservoir was sufficient to cool down the one standby reactor.
Blame Game
Russians and Ukrainians are pointing fingers at each other for the catastrophe; the Russians control the area near the dam, suggesting that Ukrainian forces could be the perpetrator if the dam's destruction results from artillery shelling. The eventual flooding even caused the lives of Russian soldiers who, in vain, tried to escape from the gushing waters, a Ukrainian soldier claimed.
Ukrainian intelligence sources accused the Russians of destroying the dam with explosives that destroyed the Soviet-era dam's support structure. The dam's destruction benefits the Russian forces, severely curtailing the Ukrainians' ability to begin their much-anticipated counter-offensive to retake their country. It may even delay the counter-offensive in the sector for at least a whole month.
Historical Instances
Historically, the destruction of a dam to inundate an area to prevent the enemy's control has previously occurred. The most infamous incident involved the Chinese Nationalist forces in 1938. They destroyed the dikes along the Yellow River to prevent the Imperial Japanese Army from attacking Chungking. The plan was successful, however, at the cost of 400,000 to 500,000 civilians dying from drowning, famine, and, subsequently, plague.
The Russians also destroyed the Dnipro River hydroelectric dam, about four hours' drive from the Nova Kakhovka dam in 1941, to stop the advancing German troops during Operation Barbarossa.
Similarly, during World War 2, the British Royal Air Force (RAF) destroyed several dams across the Ruhr River, which caused a massive flood that partially destroyed Germany's industrial capacity and killed around 1,600 civilians. A 1955 movie titled "The Dambuster" commemorated this event.
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