Flooding was ‘just the beginning’: Kakhovka dam disaster, two years on

Ukraine’s Kakhovka Dam was destroyed exactly two years ago on Friday, representing the most significant environmental disaster so far resulting from Russia’s ongoing invasion. Its collapse directly impacted over 100,000 people and submerged more than 620 square kilometres under water.

In addition to causing widespread displacement, the disaster created a humanitarian and ecological crisis – threatening disease outbreaks and prompting the collapse of ecosystems. The loss and damage from this event is estimated to be $14 billion. 

UN News’ Evgeniya Kleshcheva sat down this week with Roman Shakhmatenko, a team leader with the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine, to discuss the “far-reaching” consequences of the collapse.

UN News Service: Two years have passed since the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. How would you assess the current situation, and how are people living today in the affected regions?

Roman Shakhmatenko: This is a very important conversation, because we must not forget about the consequences of the disaster – and it truly is a disaster. 

Initially, everyone was, of course, concerned about the large-scale floods. These floods caused colossal damage – not only to residential buildings and infrastructure, but also led to a loss of biodiversity, the death of animals, and an impact on entire ecosystems. 

This inflicted serious damage on the environment and the ecosystem that Kakhovka had created. Although the Kakhovka reservoir is an artificial object, it became a full-fledged ecosystem. It provided a habitat for many species, including those listed in the Red Book as endangered. 

This fragile ecosystem was destroyed. And that was just the beginning. Next – the redistribution of water flows, which affected the water supply to a significant part of eastern and southeastern Ukraine. This directly impacted households and, of course, agriculture. 

Although nature recovers fairly quickly, and we’re already seeing some signs of recovery – despite contamination and siltation – the redistribution of water resources remains a serious threat to people in the region: in Kryvyi Rih, Marhanets, Nikopol, and other settlements that previously received water from Kakhovka. 

Even now, despite emergency measures by the government and international organizations, people are still struggling to cope with the situation. Irrigation systems are largely damaged or destroyed. This jeopardizes agricultural production, and therefore – food security in the country. Many communities are still facing a shortage of fresh water.

UN News Service: Tell us about UNDP's work. How have you supported local communities and infrastructure recovery?

Roman Shakhmatenko: When the Kakhovka dam disaster occurred, we immediately realized: the flood is only the beginning. We, of course, helped communities – we provided generators for pumps, equipment for clearing debris, and waste disposal. But it became clear that the water supply problem, especially in the Dnipropetrovsk region, requires more sustainable solutions. 

Many communities in this region experienced difficulties with water access even before the dam’s destruction, and now they have lost it completely. We understood that humanitarian aid would not be enough – solutions were needed at least for the medium term. Therefore, we began with the installation of water purification stations. This equipment allowed people to use contaminated water from available sources – for example, from the Inhulets and Saksahan rivers – and purify it.

But filtration alone was not enough. Communities are spread out over a large distance from each other. Therefore, we also provided water tankers for water distribution. These water purification stations and vehicles are still operating, providing people with water even two years later.

In addition, we conducted an important study of soil contamination. Together with state environmental inspections, we sent a mission to the Kakhovka dam area to analyse for heavy metals and other pollutants. We took 40 samples and conducted an analysis of more than 300 indicators. This was a dangerous mission – the region is under shelling, and the risk to the lives of specialists was high. Nevertheless, we collected primary, reliable data. At that moment, there were many assessments in the public space, but very few of them were based on real samples. We believe that this was an important contribution to the overall work of the state and the Ukrainian people in overcoming the consequences of the disaster.

In Nikopol, together with local authorities, we installed a pump that allowed for the restoration of water supply. The city is shelled daily, but thanks to this pump, most of the population has regained access to water. This was a truly heroic step by local specialists. 

Of course, we also conducted assessments of the destruction, an analysis of the condition of settlements, and the extent of damage to buildings. But, in my opinion, the aforementioned measures had the greatest effect.

UN News Service: And what are the long-term environmental consequences of this disaster, and how does UNDP plan to combat them?

Roman Shakhmatenko: We will only see the long-term consequences in the future. The loss of biodiversity, the death of aquatic organisms and other species that cannot be restored – this has already been recorded. At least six mammal species are endangered due to the war and the dam’s destruction. 

The restoration of groundwater and the microclimate is estimated to take at least three decades. This is a task for decades to come, and Ukraine will have to deal with it long after the war ends.

The infrastructural consequences are also enormous. Non-functioning or destroyed irrigation systems affect both the environmental situation and agriculture. Therefore, I believe that Ukraine faces a unique challenge that will need to be prioritized in the post-war period.

UN News Service: Can you tell us about what you have seen in the affected areas?

Roman Shakhmatenko: We recently visited one of the communities to which we delivered a water purification unit. These stations are autonomous – they operate on solar energy and provide clean water. There is also a water tanker on site. 

The station was installed in a local school. Every day at a certain time, people come for water, and the water tanker travels to nearby villages. This has become an important part of the community's daily life. 

And this was made possible thanks to the support of the European Union. People living in extremely difficult conditions have gained access to basic necessities. This, in my opinion, is an important example of how international partnerships truly help on the ground.

The audio version of the interview is available here. 

Source: UN news.