Nova Kakhova Dam Breach...

by Bernhard at Moon of Alabama

Updated throughout (12:15 UTC)

A few hours ago an alleged explosion blew up the Nova Kakhova dam in Ukraine.

biggerIt was either that or structural damage from previous strikes.

Geoff Brumfiel @gbrumfiel – 6:31 UTC · Jun 6, 2023The dam was already under enormous strain and damaged.
Then things got worse. On 2 June, it looks like a road over the dam failed. That could be indicative of a larger structural failure.
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In consequence the huge reservoir behind the dam is now flooding lower level land south of Kherson (Xepcoh). The pictures show the before and after of potential flooding due to the breach:

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biggerPreviously the Russian army had pulled back its troops from the northern part of Kherson oblast because a dam breach would endanger their supply route.

We do not know yet how much of the dam has been damaged. How much water will be flowing out of it depends on the part of the wall that is still standing below the current water level.

Of note is that the Ukraine had previously filled the upstream dams on the Dnieper to the brim to increase the potential damage. Those waters were released in early May. Notice the date of the following tweet.

ZOKA @200_zoka – 14:12 UTC · May 4, 2023Water level in Kakhovka reservoir in Zaporozhye region risen by 17 m and almost reached critical level. Under threat of destruction of dam in Kamenka Dneprovskaya, dozens of villages may be flooded.
Kyiv opened the floodgates in Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye.
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The Ukrainian propagandists are claiming that the Russian blew up the dam. That is however unlikely.

On October 21 2022 Vasily Nebenzya, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, sent a letter to the UN Secretary General about the plans of the Kiev regime to destroy the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station.

In a report about last years Kherson counteroffensive the Washington Post reported of Ukrainian plans and attempts to blow up the dam:…