Kakhovka Dam Destruction: 3 Years On, Death Toll Unknown, $14 Billion Damage
Three years after Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka HPP on June 6, 2023, the official death toll is 34, but the true number remains unknown. The destruction, deemed a war crime, caused $14 billion in damage and widespread environmental and humanitarian crises. Russian forces occupied the dam and were the only ones with access to place explosives.
Three years after Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant on June 6, 2023, the true death toll remains unknown. Official figures state at least 34 people were killed, 80 settlements flooded, and nearly 4,000 evacuated. Ukraine's Vice Prime Minister for Reconstruction, Oleksii Kuleba, called it «one of the largest war crimes of Russia against people and the environment.»
The New York Times investigation indicated the destruction required substantial explosives placed inside the dam, accessible only to Russian forces who occupied the complex. Ukraine referred the case to the International Criminal Court, but no ICC determination has been issued specifically on the Kakhovka HPP.
The downstream effects include flooded villages, lost Black Sea ecosystems, and drinking-water crises in Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts. The Kakhovka Reservoir, the largest on the Dnipro River, held 18 cubic kilometers of water, released over 3-4 days. Total losses are now estimated at over $14 billion, up from an initial $11 billion. Former Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrii Melnyk called it «the worst environmental catastrophe in Europe since the Chornobyl disaster.»