War in Ukraine: the Kakhovka dam tragedy

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine on Tuesday 6 June resulted in the flooding of 600 square kilometres of land in two days and the evacuation of 6,000 people. More than 24 villages have been partially destroyed, hectares of fields have been polluted and mines are adrift. The situation could rapidly turn into a humanitarian disaster, with thousands of lives at risk.

The north bank, under Ukrainian control, is slightly less affected than the south bank occupied by Russian forces. Zelensky deplores the slow response to this “war crime” and “ecocide”. As the dam, which is 150 km away from the Zaporijjia nuclear power plant, is controlled by Russian forces, their involvement in the explosion is highly probable. Nevertheless, the two sides continue to blame each other for the tragedy, notably in front of the UN Security Council, which was urgently convened for the occasion.

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