Due to the actions of the occupiers, Ukraine loses thousands of cubic meters of Dnieper water every day, and this can have colossal consequences.

Ukraine calls on international partners to force Russia to repair and close the locks of the Kakhovskaya HPP dam or to allow Ukrainian specialists to do it safely.

As reported on the Government portal, the Minister of Environment Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Ruslan Strelets said this during a joint briefing with the EU Commissioner for the Environment, Oceans and Fisheries Virginius Sinkyavichyus.

As the minister noted, the situation with Russia’s terrorist actions at the Kakhovsky Reservoir should be brought to the international political level. Ukraine loses thousands of cubic meters of Dnieper water every day due to the actions of the occupiers.

“This can have colossal consequences. If the normal water level in the reservoir is 16 meters, then today we already have a level of 13.83 meters. This can lead to the fact that more than a million Ukrainians will be left without drinking water. A drop in the water level below the mark in 12 meters will mean an ecological catastrophe, as we will simply lose a large amount of biodiversity. This is a very serious challenge and I am sure that only with the help of our international partners we will be able to resolve this issue,” Strelets emphasized.

The minister also called such actions of Russia another attempt at nuclear terrorism, because a decrease in the water level in the Kakhov reservoir will mean the failure of the cooling systems of the Zaporizhzhya NPP.

In turn, Sinkevičius stated that today it is really important to inform the international community about the possible consequences of such a situation.

“We will raise this issue at the highest level, at the level of the UN. After all, such actions are evidence of another act of terrorism against people and their basic needs, which must be recorded,” said the European Commissioner.

The situation at the Kakhovskaya HPP: details

On February 12, Iryna Vereshchuk, the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories, said that the occupiers are draining the Kakhov reservoir, which harms the environment and poses a threat to water supply and agriculture in the southern regions.

On February 14, the general director of “Ukrhydroenergo” Ihor Syrota stated that the water level in the Kakhov reservoir is still higher than the critical mark. Syrota noted that at first the Russians opened two locks of the Kakhov reservoir, and then three, but thanks to the flood, hydrologists will be able to maintain this mark.

At the same time, he noted that in the case of reaching a critical level, there may be negative consequences for the cooling of Zaporizhzhya NPP power units.