Thousands of hectares of forest, unique nature reserves and huge arable land have been flooded by the water masses from the destroyed Kakhovka reservoir in southern Ukraine. In the Cherson region, the water washed vast amounts of mud contaminated with heavy metals over the land. The soils affected by the environmental disaster are among the most fertile in Europe. However, the water also killed many rare animals as it drained into the Black Sea and devastated the original flora in the delta of the Dnipro River.
Not all consequences of this unprecedented disaster are visible yet. But the problems are already huge. And new ones are added, because germs spread through rotting carcasses of animals, through flooded cemeteries and through destroyed sewers and liquid manure pits. Thousands of toilets in houses, but also sewage treatment plants have been flooded.
Doctors warn that diseases such as cholera can develop. Diarrhea, skin and eye infections are to be expected from the contaminated water. In addition, oil, lubricants and other toxic chemical substances pollute the water.
The situation is made more difficult by the fact that Russia occupies large parts of the Cherson region through its war against Ukraine. Russian and Ukrainian troops are shooting at each other. Rescue operations for the people affected by the flood as well as measures to protect nature and archaeological excavation sites are difficult to organize because of the fighting.
Ukraine loses important water reservoir and a lot of forest
The water level is dropping at the moment. But the national nature park in the lower reaches of the Dnipro (Nyschnjodnirowskyj) is still an average of two meters under water. Specialists are on their way to measure the water quality and record the damage, Ukrainian Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Ruslan Strilez said on the Telegram news channel. Ukraine lost 18 cubic kilometers of water due to the reservoir leaking out. In the region, half of the 55,000 hectares of forest has been lost, the minister said.
Around 80,000 hectares of protected areas were “washed away, and with them rare animal species,” which roughly corresponds to the area of Berlin, explains Strilez. 160,000 animals and 20,000 birds are in danger from the disaster. Flooding affects an entire ecosystem. Strilez fears the region could turn into a desert. 30 percent of nature in the Cherson region is in danger of disappearing. The Black Sea biosphere reserve around 45 kilometers southwest of Cherson is also affected.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks of the biggest man-made environmental catastrophe in Europe in recent decades – and once again calls for help from the West. Hundreds of thousands of people in the region have no “normal access” to water. Zelenskyy accuses Russia of having mined and blown up the dam. On the other hand, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, who occupies most of the area and has annexed the Kherson region, claims that Ukraine itself destroyed the dam wall by firing rocket launchers.
Unlike Zelenskyj, Putin only speaks of “problems” that can be solved. “Environmental and sanitary” safety issues need to be addressed seriously. It is clear to everyone that the more than 60-year-old Kakhovka reservoir, one of Ukraine’s largest water reservoirs, would still be intact today without Putin’s war, which he started on February 24, 2022.
Rare animal species threatened and plant life destroyed
The non-governmental organization UNCG (Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group), which specializes in nature conservation, speaks of Russian “eco-terror” against the protected areas in the region. The damage to nature with its unique biotopes is devastating: rare ant populations, reptiles and amphibians, nesting sites for birds, but also mammals have been destroyed.
According to the UNCG, the habitat of 70 percent of the global population of the birch mouse (Sicista loriger) has been flooded and thus lost, which could now lead to the extinction of the species. Half of the population of the sand blind mouse (Spalax arenarius) has also been destroyed, write the organization’s experts in a report.
While President Zelenskyj compares the catastrophe with the consequences of using a “weapon of mass destruction”, scientists are trying to make sober assessments. They point out, for example, that the reactor explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 1986 had much more serious consequences – for decades.
Biologist Andrei Adrianov from the Russian Academy of Sciences explains that the water has to be gone before the extent of the damage can be measured. However, the deposited sludge on the soil must be examined. Above all, the economic damage is high because farmers no longer receive any income. The area is considered the breadbasket of Ukraine.
German expert sees opportunity for soil recovery
Nevertheless, according to the expert Georg Guggenberger, the soil can also recover. “Soils are living beings that can heal themselves,” said the head of the Institute for Soil Science at the University of Hanover to the German Press Agency. The prerequisite is that the water from the reservoir that flows into the Black Sea does not wash away the earth. “Of course, the current arable crops have been destroyed wherever there is flooding,” said Guggenberger.
“In principle, the soil should regenerate when the water drains off again relatively quickly. Major signs of erosion must also probably be expected, but this is not yet foreseeable.” The extent of the chemical pollution is not yet clear, but this can also be reduced.
According to the scientist, irrigation, which is important for the cultivation of fruit and vegetables, is now missing. The symbol of the region – the famous watermelons – will no longer exist. In contrast, no irrigation is required for wheat and sunflowers for the production of edible oil. “It should work again, at least to a limited extent, next year.” But Guggenberger still sees a serious problem, even if the fighting in the war zone ends one day. “But I see the greatest danger in the flushing out of the buried mines, which can now be transported anywhere by water.”
