The International Atomic Energy Agency said there is no, quote, “immediate nuclear safety risk.” Ukraine also says at least 150 tons of machine oil has been released into the Dnipro River. Russian officials say the water levels of a reservoir used to hold cooling water for the plant has already fallen by more than eight feet. The disaster has raised fears of a nuclear accident at Europe’s largest nuclear power station, the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant, which is upstream from the dam.

The breach could also limit drinking water supplies across Kherson and Crimea. Ukraine’s government says floodwaters are threatening 80 towns and villages, as well as the city of Kherson, home to over 300,000 people. Ukraine and Russia are blaming each other for the blast. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.Įvacuation efforts are underway in southern Ukraine after an explosion destroyed a critical dam on the Dnipro River in the Russian-occupied region of Kherson. We go to Kyiv to speak with Olexi Pasyuk, deputy director of the Ukrainian NGO Ecoaction, to discuss the environmental implications.ĪMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!,, The War and Peace Report. The disaster has raised fears of a nuclear accident at Europe’s largest nuclear power station, the six-reactor Zaporizhzhia plant, which is upstream of the dam breach and relies on a reservoir formed by the dam for critical cooling systems.

Ukrainian officials accused Russia’s military of deliberately sabotaging the dam, calling it an act of “ecocide,” while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian artillery fire for the breach. Ukraine’s government says floodwaters are threatening 80 towns and villages, as well as the city of Kherson, home to 300,000 people. The breach has created an additional humanitarian disaster in an area that’s seen heavy fighting since Russia’s invasion.

Evacuation efforts are underway in southern Ukraine, where floodwaters are rising after a dam on the Dnipro River was breached overnight in the Ukrainian city of Nova Kakhovka.

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