Anniversary of the explosion of the Kakhovska HPP: what has changed during the year?

A year ago, the Russian invaders committed a man-made and ecological disaster, blowing up the Kakhovska HPP in the Kherson region.

On June 6, 2023, the Russians blew up the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station. The hydroelectric power plant was completely destroyed and cannot be restored. The Russians deliberately carried out a terrorist attack on the Kakhovska HPP. A special forces group of the Russian occupation army arrived there and detonated it.

Victims of the terrorist attack at Kakhovska HPP

As a result of the disaster, 28 people were injured in the region, 32 were killed, 39 were missing, and 2,800 were forced to evacuate. It is currently impossible to calculate the number of victims on the occupied left bank of the Kherson Region.

Also, as a result of the blow-up of the hydroelectric power plant, about 150,000 hectares of territory were flooded, and wild and domestic animals died, the number of which is also difficult to calculate.

According to preliminary estimates of the Ministry of Environment and the State Environmental Inspection, the damage to water resources due to the blow-up of the hydroelectric power station amounts to UAH 2 billion.

On June 6, 2023, USM published the chronology of the explosion of the Kakhovska HPP. You can familiarize yourself with it if you are sure that it will not retraumatize you.

Recovery after the explosion of the Kakhovska HPP

After the detonation, environmentalists sowed the bare bottom of the reservoir every day to prevent it from drying out and further blowing the sand into the air with all the harmful substances. Today, a willow forest has formed in the city of Kakhovskyi Reservoir.

After the de-occupation of the entire Kherson region, Ukrhydroenergo plans to build a new station on the site of the Kakhovska HPP destroyed by the Russians.

According to the CEO of Ukrhydroenergo Ihor Syrota, it is possible to rebuild the station in 6-7 years. After the de-occupation of the entire region, specialists will be able to drain the place where the explosion took place, carry out an examination, dismantle the destroyed structures and structures of the Kakhovskyi hydraulic unit. And then proceed to the direct reconstruction of the station.

Ukrainian hydropower plants are under attack from the Russians

In March, half a year after the disaster, the Russians began to attack other hydroelectric power stations in Ukraine. In particular, the targets of the enemy were the Kaniv and Dnistro HPPs.

Photo: Konstantin and Vlada Liberovy, Felipe Dana, Alex Babenko, Patryk Jaracz.