Nova Kakhovka Dam collapse: Blame game, relief aids, Nuclear plant impact | 5 points

Nova Kakhovka dam collapse in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine triggers severe flooding, raising tensions and accusations of war crime.

Nova Kakhovka, a major dam and hydroelectric power plant on the Dnipro River in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine collapsed on Tuesday triggering an emergency of severe flooding. Tensions are running high as both sides engage in a blame game, with Ukraine accusing Russia of deliberately committing a war crime. The Geneva Conventions ban targeting dams in war. (ALSO READ: Ukraine's Nova Kakhovka dam breach: What happened and why is it significant?)

This combination of handout satellite images courtesy of Maxar technologies shows the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station (left) on June 5, 2023 and the same area on June 6 after it was damaged. ((Photo by Satellite image 2023 Maxar Technologies / AFP))

Here are the latest updates on the dam breach.

Impact of Kakhovka dam collapse

Flooding after the dam collapse threatens around 42,000 people in Russian and Ukrainian-controlled territories along the Dnipro River. Water levels in Kherson city, which is roughly 60 km downstream from the dam, surged by 3.5 metres on Tuesday.

The flooding has also affected the region's flora and fauna. In the Kazkova Dibrova zoo, which is on the Russian-held riverbank, all 300 animals were killed, the zoo officials said on social media.

The dam was also critically important for providing water to Russia-controlled Crimea.

On Wednesday, UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths showed said "...life will become intolerably harder for those already suffering from the conflict (Russia-Ukraine War)," adding that urgent assistance efforts are ongoing.

Streets are flooded in Kherson, Ukraine, Wednesday, June 7, 2023 after the Kakhovka dam was blown up. (AP)

Who is to blame?

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traded accusations of dam destruction on Moscow. “Russia has been controlling the dam and the entire Kakhovka HPP for more than a year. It is physically impossible to blow it up somehow from the outside, by shelling. It was mined by the Russian occupiers. And they blew it up,” he said on Tuesday in a Bucharest Nine summit.

Russia, on the other hand, blames Ukraine, claiming that Kyiv blew up the dam to slow down the attack on itself. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said his forces had halted Ukraine's counteroffensive in engagements that had brought heavy destruction to Ukrainian soldiers. He claimed that the decision to demolish the dam was made to slow down the approaching Russian forces.

Despite swapping accusations, neither party has provided clear evidence of the other's involvement.

The United States did not take any side, but the deputy US ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, said it would be counterproductive for Ukraine to demolish the dam and injure its own people.

What do experts say?

The Nova Kakhovka dam was on the Dnipro River, with Russia holding the left bank and Ukraine controlling the right. As a result of being in the middle of a war, it has restricted access to international agencies, making it difficult to determine the true cause.

Experts claim, with little information though, the blast would have occurred within a closed space with huge explosives, aimed at the surrounding structure, to inflict such huge damage.

On the other hand, according to experts, if the explosion happened outside the dam, either by a bomb or missile, only a small portion of its force would impact the dam. Thus requiring a much larger explosive.

“You’re going to be limited in how much a warhead can carry,” Nick Glumac, an engineering professor and explosives expert at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign told NewYork Times.

He adds that even a direct impact may not be enough to break the dam but requires a substantial quantity of energy. "You have the water force, which is massive. This is not like holding on by a thread; these things are tough.”

To affect Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant?

The damage has also raised concerns about a nuclear mishap, as the Zaporizhzhia power plant's cooling systems rely on the upstream Kakhovka reservoir.

According to the United Nations nuclear watchdog, the Zaporizhzhia facility, which is located upward of the river on the reservoir, should have adequate water to cool its reactors for "some months" from a different pond.

Dam collapse to benefit Russia?

As Kyiv prepares for its long-awaited counteroffensive, some military analysts believe the flooding will favour Russia by halting or restricting any Ukrainian push along that stretch of the front line.

The Kremlin, on the other hand, accused Ukraine, claiming it was attempting to divert attention away from the beginning of a massive counteroffensive that Moscow claims is failing.

(Inputs from agencies)