A Russian attack has damaged a dam in eastern Ukraine, causing water levels to rise along the nearby Vovcha River and posing a flood risk to nearby towns.
Water Rose By 1,2 meters
This was reported by Ziare as coming from Vadym Filashin, the governor of Ukraine's Donetsk region.
The dam, located near the village of Stary Terny in the Donetsk region, is part of the Kurakhove Reservoir.
Filashin reported that water levels in the Vovcha River had risen by about 1.2 meters near the village of Velika Novosilka.
While no flooding has been reported so far, officials remain concerned about the threat to local communities in Donetsk and neighboring Dnipropetrovsk.
Bombings Prevent Inspection
The dam lies close to the town of Kurakhove, which had a population of about 10,000 people before the war. It is now near the front line, in a region where Russian forces have made advances in recent weeks.
Due to ongoing shelling, Ukrainian authorities cannot confirm the full extent of the damage to the dam or assess its structural integrity.
Roman Padun, head of the Military Administration in Kurakhove, noted that rising water levels are affecting several villages downstream from the reservoir.
He also highlighted that continuous bombardment prevents officials from inspecting the dam for further damage.
This incident comes after a similar event in June 2023, when a Soviet-era dam in Ukraine's Kherson region was partially destroyed.
The breach released billions of liters of water downstream, causing widespread flooding and significant environmental damage. Kyiv blamed Russia, whose forces controlled the dam at that time, for the destruction, suggesting it was an attempt to counter an impending Ukrainian offensive. Moscow, in turn, accused Ukraine.
