The latest war crime committed by russian terrorists involved blowing up the Kakhovka dam on Tuesday 6th of June, leaving an enormous environmental catastrophe. According to official information 30 towns and villages in Kherson region have been flooded, supply of freshwater and electricity have been disrupted. In addition the region is under constant shelling by the russian army.

We as an organization working for peace in Ukraine by ending funding for russian fossil fuel exports, stopping climate disruption and supporting clean energy, could not be silent about this huge disaster. Our Director Svitlana Romanko said: “This destruction presents a massive ecological catastrophe, and its ramifications will be suffered by the people and environment of Ukraine for years to come. The root cause of why it has happened are fossil fuels. There are problems of contaminated land, water, lost national parks, flora and fauna, species, habitats and ecosystem services which can not be assessed properly. Merely assessing these consequences and identifying all the factors of destruction in this active warzone will take a long time.” 

Our comments on this disastrous situation received much coverage in the international press. Bloomberg reported on the scale of the damage and the climate consequences caused by the collapse of the dam, with Svitlana Romanko explaining that replacing the hydroelectric plant with green power currently is not possible. As a result, even more fossil fuels will be used and increase greenhouse gas emissions further damaging our planet. When asked by BBC World News and BBC Sounds about the effects of this ecological catastrophe Svitlana said that the breach of the dam will "exacerbate the negative effect of climate change”, considering that the dam was "a huge source of renewable energy... and irrigation". She also highlighted the impact on food security across the globe.

In ua.News, Kyiv Independent and Interia Wydarzenia, our Campaign Manager Oleh Savitskyi emphasized that the destruction of the Kakhovka dam is a crime against humanity and amounts to ecocide. He also mentioned that the flooding of towns and villages in the Kherson region can extract harmful chemicals from their storage sites on land and distribute them over flooded areas. In the end these chemicals will enter the Black Sea.

Additionally, we were featured in the following international news outlets:

• ua.News “Kakhovka HPP: how Russia will be responsible for ecocide and what consequences experts predict”
• Trend Detail News “Thousands evacuate as fears of humanitarian and environmental disaster grow”
• openDemocracy “Kherson flood rescue enters second day after collapse of huge dam”
• Babel.ua “The occupiers blew up the Kakhovka HPP. Will the crops be saved? What are the consequences for ecology? Will it affect the Ukrainian army counterattack? We answer the main questions and reassure a little”
• UA ZMI “Environmentalist: Destruction of Kakhovka HPP may exacerbate global warming effects.”

In other news, this week Svitlana Romanko became a contributor to TalkMarkets. Her recent article “Does The G7 Want To Help Or Hinder Efforts On Energy, Climate And Peace?” is now featured in this important financial news outlet.

By Tetiana Borokhovska