On social media, Daria Zarivna, communications adviser to the Chief of Staff to the President of Ukraine, said 150 tons of engine oil had spilled into the Dnieper River due to the collapse of a hydroelectric dam. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned of the risk of further leaking 300 tons of oil into the river.
Upstream of the dam is the Kakhovka Reservoir, which holds about 18 km3 of water, approximately the same amount of water as the Great Salt Lake in Wyoming (USA). Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba warned that floods caused by dam failures risk causing "long-term and irreversible harm" to ecosystems in the region. According to him, animals at Nova Kakhovka Zoo died due to rising water and this is just the beginning harm to wildlife in southern Ukraine. He also warned of the risk of ecological destruction not only in Ukraine, but on a regional scale.
Foreign Minister Kuleba called on the United Nations Security Council to convene an emergency meeting after the collapse of the Kakhovka dam.
Meanwhile, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, which specializes in investigating serious crimes, announced that it had opened a criminal investigation into the sabotage of the Kakhovka Dam.
A state of emergency has been declared in the town of Nova Kakhovka, which the Russian military controls in the Kherson province of Ukraine, after the collapse of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam.
Both Moscow and Kiev blame each other for the collapse of the Kakhovka dam and give mixed opinions about the safety of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, about 150 km above the dam.
The Kakhovka Dam was originally a source of cooling water for the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant. The incident is raising fears of a nuclear accident at the largest power plant in Europe.
The same day, June 6, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said that it does not currently see a risk of nuclear insecurity, but is looking for ways to provide cooling water for nuclear power plants. Zaporizhzhia after the Kakhovka dam was damaged.
In a statement sent to the IAEA Board of Governors, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said the agency was closely monitoring the situation at the Zaporizhzhia plant, but had not identified an "immediate nuclear safety risk". .
The damage to the Kakhovka Dam resulted in a 5cm/h drop in the reservoir's water level. At dawn on June 6, the water level in the reservoir was about 6m. Mr. Grossi warned that if this amount of water fell below 16,4m, the reservoir could not have enough water to pump into the plant, and said that this could happen in the next few days.
The plant's reactors have been decommissioned, but still need cooling water to ensure there is no nuclear disaster. Mr. Grossi warned that the lack of coolant in essential cooling water systems for a long time would cause the fuel to melt and disrupt the operation of emergency diesel generators.
According to the IAEA Director General, Zaporizhzhia plant employees are working hard to pump water into cooling water channels and related systems, while temporarily suspending water supply for non-essential operations of the plant. In addition, the IAEA is also determining whether a large cooling lake near the site can provide cooling water in the next few months. This lake is designed on a water reservoir.
The head of the IAEA stressed that this cooling lake needs to be preserved, and called on the parties to ensure the lake is intact. Mr. Grossi is scheduled to visit the Zaporizhzhia factory next week.
