When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

You've reached your limit of one free article.

Get unlimited access to Worldcrunch

You can cancel anytime .

SUBSCRIBERS BENEFITS

Exclusive International news coverage

Ad-free experience NEW

Weekly digital Magazine NEW

9 daily & weekly Newsletters

Access to Worldcrunch archives

Free trial

30-days free access, then $2.90
per month.

Annual Access BEST VALUE

$19.90 per year, save $14.90 compared to monthly billing.save $14.90.

Subscribe to Worldcrunch
FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

This Is How The Kakhovka Dam Attack Will Change The War

The destruction of the hydroelectric dam has caused massive flooding and is forcing mass evacuations. And while the disaster is threatening local populations, it is also bound to alter the course of the war — in more ways than one.

Image of a Ukrainian soldier

A Ukrainian soldier

Anna Akage

-Analysis-

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam is among the worst man-made disasters ever seen in the southern Ukrainian region of Kherson, which had already seen devastating fighting during the Russian invasion. But it also comes as Ukrainian troops begin their much anticipated push into Russian-occupied territory — indeed, it was likely timed with that in mind.

Stay up-to-date with the latest on the Russia-Ukraine war, with our exclusive international coverage.

Sign up to our free daily newsletter.

So how will the destroyed infrastructure, widespread flooding and humanitarian catastrophe along the Dnipro River affect the counteroffensive?

In the areas flooded by the bursting dam, the situation is developing rapidly — and the consequences have already surpassed the worst forecasts of both Ukrainian and international experts.

The affected area includes territories on both banks of the Dnipro River, from the town of Nova Kakhovka, where the dam and hydroelectric power plant were located, to the outflow of the river into the Black Sea near the Kingsburg Spit, which rising water levels have turned into an island.

Changing the area's landscape, urgent evacuation of people, and the actual transfer of the front line in this region will inevitably affect the course of the war, especially given Ukraine's offensive to liberate the southern territories. From experts and information on the ground, here's a forecast of five ways the dam's destruction will change the war:


Flooding of the territory

An obvious problem for the Ukrainian army: flooding along the banks of the Dnipro River, which is now the border between Ukrainian and Russian forces.

Ukraine fully controls the right bank, while Russia partially controls the left bank. This includes the entire coastline from Zaporizhzhia to the Black Sea, as well as land access to Russian-occupied Crimea. The left bank, which is geographically lower, has suffered the worst flooding.

The dam breach will completely change the landscape of the region, broadening the river and making adjacent territories swampy and unsuitable not only for living but also for moving heavy military equipment.

The flooding will end even the remote possibility of a Ukrainian offensive across the Dnipro into the occupied southern regions. But crossing the river wasn't likely part of the Ukrainian plans, notes Mykola Bieleskov, an analyst at the National Institute for Strategic Studies.

"I don't think the military impact will be great, given that the crossing of the Dnipro was hardly planned as a major blow, but rather as something additional to the counteroffensive. Ukraine and Russia can now free up some forces, so the only question is who can move them somewhere faster," he told Bloomberg.

Image of the flooded area near the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Kherson region

Flooded area near the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in the Kherson region

Novaya Kakhovka Emergency Response / ZUMA

Evacuation and rescue operations

Still, Ukraine has been forced to dedicate time and resources to evacuate people from more than 30 settlements on the right bank of the Dnipro River, rescuing people and pets, as well as working to restore water and electricity to the region, and irrigation of agricultural land. Rescuers are also helping the population of the flooded occupied territories, who have been abandoned by the Russian administration.

The dam attack could also lead to problems with the water supply to Russian-occupied Crimea.

But the attitudes of Ukrainians and Russians toward territory under their control are very different: Russian troops are reportedly saving themselves and retreating to safer positions while continuing to shell flooded areas, while Ukrainian forces are doing rescue operations. So far, Russians are not taking any evacuation measures in the occupied territories.

The war has not been paused because of the tragedy in Dnipro. Ukrainian soldiers, medics, rescuers, volunteers and local administrations already must rescue civilians and restore critical infrastructure in different regions every day because of constant shelling by Russian missiles and drones. Now, in addition to these responsibilities, a new burden falls on them, the scale of which is impossible to comprehend: the resettlement of tens of thousands of people, and the loss of crops and critical infrastructure.

Russian retreat?

The floodwaters are also forcing Russian troops to retreat, and some experts hope that Ukraine may gain advantages on this section of the front in a few weeks. The Russians may even begin to withdraw from the left bank of the Kherson region, suggests Roman Svitan, a military expert and Ukrainian Armed Forces colonel.

"The receding water may open up some more areas that may not have been considered for the first stage of the offensive," Svitan noted.
Image of \u200bUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko at the flooded Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Internal Affairs Minister Ihor Klymenko (centre) at the flooded Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

Pool / Ukrainian Presidentia / ZUMA

Floating landmines

The flooding has also led to the destruction of some fortified Russian positions and minefields Russian forces laid down along the entire coastline during their occupation.

While the water has forced them to retreat deeper into the Kherson region, this is not such positive news: the flooding waters also seem to be unearthing mines and unexploded ordinance and scattering them at random, threatening the military and the local population. Some may end up in the Dnipro estuary and the Black Sea.

Water supply in Crimea

There are few sources of fresh water on the peninsula, and the local population is used to living on the edge of drought and relying on water imports from mainland Ukraine.

But now that the largest reservoir supplying the area has been destroyed and the water level is rapidly falling, this longstanding water supply problem may become critical. Although this is not expected to have a direct impact on the frontline, the humanitarian consequences could be severe.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

Green

The Unsustainable Future Of Fish Farming — On Vivid Display In Turkish Waters

Currently, 60% of Turkey's fish currently comes from cultivation, also known as fish farming, compared to just 10% two decades ago. The short-sightedness of this shift risks eliminating fishing output from both the farms and the open seas along Turkey's 5,200 miles of coastline.

Photograph of two fishermen throwing a net into the Tigris river in Turkey.

Traditional fishermen on the Tigris river, Turkey.

Dûrzan Cîrano/Wikimeidia
İrfan Donat

ISTANBUL — Turkey's annual fish production includes 515,000 tons from cultivation and 335,000 tons came from fishing in open waters. In other words, 60% of Turkey's fish currently comes from cultivation, also known as fish farming.

It's a radical shift from just 20 years ago when some 600,000 tons, or 90% of the total output, came from fishing. Now, researchers are warning the current system dominated by fish farming is ultimately unsustainable in the country with 8,333 kilometers (5,177 miles) long.

Professor Mustafa Sarı from the Maritime Studies Faculty of Bandırma 17 Eylül University believes urgent action is needed: “Why were we getting 600,000 tons of fish from the seas in the 2000’s and only 300,000 now? Where did the other 300,000 tons of fish go?”

Professor Sarı is challenging the argument from certain sectors of the industry that cultivation is the more sustainable approach. “Now we are feeding the fish that we cultivate at the farms with the fish that we catch from nature," he explained. "The fish types that we cultivate at the farms are sea bass, sea bram, trout and salmon, which are fed with artificial feed produced at fish-feed factories. All of these fish-feeds must have a significant amount of fish flour and fish oil in them.”

That fish flour and fish oil inevitably must come from the sea. "We have to get them from natural sources. We need to catch 5.7 kilogram of fish from the seas in order to cultivate a sea bream of 1 kg," Sarı said. "Therefore, we are feeding the fish to the fish. We cannot cultivate fish at the farms if the fish in nature becomes extinct. The natural fish need to be protected. The consequences would be severe if the current policy is continued.”

Keep reading...Show less

The latest