Ukraine's fields could turn ‘into deserts’ after dam attack as officials warn it could spell global food crisis
8 June 2023, 00:46 | Updated: 8 June 2023, 00:51
The collapse of the Nova Kakhova dam on Tuesday could turn Ukraine’s southern fields “into deserts” by next year, top Ukrainian officials have cautioned.
A crisis of global food security could occur if the Ukrainian fields turn into deserts, as the dam’s destruction has stopped the water supply to nearly 600,000 hectares of agricultural land.
The lack of water supply to this land endangers the production of four million tonnes of grains and crops exported from Ukraine, Ukraine’s agricultural ministry wrote.
They also said: “The fields in the south of Ukraine may turn into deserts as early as next year.
“In total, according to preliminary calculations, the losses from the death of all biological resources will amount to [$285m dollars],” it concluded.
The statement also noted that the surrounding countryside and water supplies have also been destroyed and fish stock killed.
Ukraine is globally one of the major producers of grain and oils, which means without the maintenance of agricultural land, worldwide food supplies could be majorly affected.
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Mykhailo Podolyak, a chief advisor to President Zelenksy told The Independent: “The instantaneous death of a large number of fish and animals, the waterlogging of drained lands and the change in the climatic regime of the region will later be reflected in the food security of the world.”
A state of emergency was declared in the Russian-occupied land on Tuesday after the dam in Nova Kakhovka was destroyed.
The dam provides water for a number of communities upstream, but many people were urged to seek shelter on high ground.
Both Ukraine and Russia have been quick to point fingers at the other for the flooding.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the bursting of the Nova Kakhovka dam as "an environmental bomb of mass destruction” and said the only guarantee against new “terrorist” acts is liberating Ukraine.
“Such deliberate destruction by the Russian occupiers and other structures of the hydroelectric power station is an environmental bomb of mass destruction,” he said as he pointed to Russia as responsible for the dam’s collapse.
He also said his government is doing "all we can to save people" and that he had ordered an evacuation.
Ukraine described the destruction as an act of terror carried out by Russia, saying the dam was blown up "from inside" at 2.50am local time.
Vladimir Leontyev of the Russian authorities said in a video message: “This crime cannot be written off. This is a terrorist act directed against civilians, Ukrainians did it.
“The water continues to mount. An evacuation is being carried out of civilians from the adjacent flooded zones to preserve all lives. There is no panic in the town.” Ukraine and Russia have previously accused each other of targeting the dam with attacks and in October, Mr Zelenskyy predicted Russia would destroy the dam in order to cause a flood.
The UK's Ministry of Defence, which regularly issues updates about the war, said the Kakhovka reservoir was at "record high" water levels before the breach.
While the dam was not entirely washed away, the MoD warned that its structure "is likely to deteriorate further over the next few days, causing additional flooding".
Together with the power station, the dam helps provide electricity, irrigation and drinking water to a wide section of southern Ukraine, including the Crimean Peninsula, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.
Government and UN officials have warned of a human and ecological disaster whose repercussions will take days to assess and far longer to recover from.
Ukrainian forces were widely seen to be moving forward with a long-anticipated counteroffensive in patches along more than 621 miles of front line in the east and south.
