Ukrainian President's Urgent Meeting, Sudden! Flood areas caused by hydroelectric power plant attack | Kakhovka | Ukraine
According to foreign media reports, the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in Novokhovka City, Kherson Prefecture, Ukraine has been attacked, causing flooding. Evacuation work in the vicinity of the area has begun.
According to the Sputnik News Agency of Russia, Vladimir Leontiev, mayor of New Kahovka, told Sputnik News Agency that the upper part of Kahovka Hydropower Station in Kherson region was destroyed by shelling, and the dam itself was not destroyed.
Leontiev told Sputnik News Agency: "At two o'clock in the morning, the upper part of the hydropower station, where the gate is located, was attacked several times, and it was destroyed. Fortunately, the dam was not destroyed."
In addition, according to Reuters, the Ukrainian Armed Forces Southern Command said on the 6th that the Kakhovka Dam in the Kherson region, which is under Russian control, was damaged by an explosion. The headquarters said on its Facebook page, "The scale of the damage, the speed and volume of the water flow, and the areas that may be submerged are under investigation."
According to reports, the head of the Kherson region in Ukraine stated on the same day that evacuation work has begun in the vicinity of the Kakhovka region in southern Ukraine.
"Within 5 hours, the flood will reach the critical water level," regional leader Alexander Prokukin said on the "Telegraph" social media platform.
Reuters quoted Russian news agency as saying that the water level of the dam has risen by 5 meters after it was bombed, and several islands downstream have been completely submerged.
Reuters also reported that Andry Yermak, the director of the Ukrainian Presidential Office, stated that Russia's destruction of the Kahovka Dam was an "ecological extinction", and national and regional officials are working to ensure the safety of local residents. Yermak wrote on the "Telegraph" social platform that Russia's actions also pose a threat to the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but he did not provide a detailed explanation. According to reports, an official from the Zaporizhzhia region stated that there is no "serious danger" at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
In addition, according to Agence France Presse, Ukrainian President Zelensky will convene a meeting of the National Security Council to respond to the explosion at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. The Director of the Office of the President of Ukraine stated that this is "another war crime committed by Russian terrorists.".
TASS News Agency, citing officials from the emergency department in the Kherson region, refuted that the attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station was reportedly carried out by the Ukrainian army, who used multiple rocket launchers called "Red Poplar".