Problem with that is that the Russians will still have to keep troops South of the Dnipro (it is exposed to the sea for instance) and so any gains of this sort would be small compared to the catastrophe that will be attributed to Russia.
— Mike Martin 🔶 (@ThreshedThought) June 6, 2023
This is nuclear level war crimes and…
Satellite images of the flooded territories of the Kherson region. Nova Kakhovka, Kozatske, Korsunka, Krynkyhttps://t.co/j4jouN2a69 pic.twitter.com/gceLFGr4zb
— Special Kherson Cat 🐈🇺🇦 (@bayraktar_1love) June 6, 2023
Devastation From Kakhovka Dam Collapse Could Take Decades to Heal | Ukraine | The Guardian
The loss of the reservoir will also mean there will be far less drinking water for cities in the region and irrigation for the agricultural belt around it. A drop of just one metre is enough for traps to run dry. That will have a knock-on effect on food production, and on exports of wheat, corn, sunflower oil and soya beans, to the rest of the world.
The Kakhovka reservoir "was the heart of one of the largest irrigation systems in Europe" and its water "made it possible to grow up to 80% of all vegetables in Ukraine and a significant percentage of fruits and grapes", according to the agricultural thinktank, EastFruit.
One of the affected areas is Crimea, which Russia has occupied since 2014. The canal that supplies water to the peninsula has its intake just above the Nova Kakhovka dam. Crimea's reservoirs have been topped up in recent months so there will not be an immediate crisis, but over the coming year, it may render the maintenance of a civilian population and an army there untenable, possibly even forcing a withdrawal without a shot being fired. The grim irony of that is unlikely to be lost on Ukrainians.
