Kakhovka: the dam that broke from the inside

At about 02:50 on 6 June 2023 the dam Russia had held for fifteen months gave way. 620 km² flooded, about 100,000 people directly affected, nearly US$14 billion in damage and loss. The dead on the Ukrainian bank are counted: 34. The dead on the occupied bank are not: OHCHR could identify 15, the occupation said 59, AP found hundreds in Oleshky alone. No international body has attributed the breach; independent analyses point to an explosion inside a structure only Russia controlled.

Denial of evacuation and humanitarian access on the occupied bank — established (OHCHR, 4 Oct 2023) Explosion from inside a Russian-held dam — pattern (NYT, NORSAR, GRC, ISW); not adjudicated Ecocide and war crime, Arts. 441, 438(2) CCU — position (Ukraine; SBU suspicion 6 Jun 2024)

Russia said. Dmitry Peskov · Kremlin spokesman · RBC, 6 Jun 2023: “We can unequivocally state that this is a deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side… pursuing the goal of depriving Crimea of water.” — Unsupported; the physical evidence points inside. The dam and its gallery were under Russian control; the NYT's engineers place the charge in the passageway through the base; NORSAR registered man-made seismic events at 02:35 and 02:54. Russia has produced no evidence and no investigation.

Evidence held: OHCHR, report on Ukraine 1 Feb – 31 Jul 2023 (4 Oct 2023), paras. 4, 36–39; Government of Ukraine – UN Post-Disaster Needs Assessment, 17 Oct 2023; Ministry of Internal Affairs; SBU, 9 Jun 2023.

Photo & video · 6 photos

Settlements on the left bank under water after the dam was destroyed, June 2023

АрміяInform · 2023-06-06 · CC BY 4.0 · original ↗

SHA-256 1a76ec68a60df85b… · 218 KB

Kherson the day after the dam was destroyed, 7 June 2023

Дмитро Завтонов / АрміяInform · 2023-06-07 · CC BY 4.0 · original ↗

SHA-256 59a88481ad3b8d19… · 106 KB

Police evacuate residents from a flooded area of Kherson region, 9 June 2023

Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine · 2023-06-09 · CC BY 4.0 · original ↗

SHA-256 10c4bb743fb72f09… · 297 KB

The village of Novohrednieve under water, 10 June 2023

State Emergency Service of Ukraine · 2023-06-10 · CC BY 4.0 · original ↗

SHA-256 ed01b8066834c01a… · 171 KB

Kalynivske after the water receded, 14 June 2023

Kherson Regional State Administration · 2023-06-14 · CC BY 4.0 · original ↗

SHA-256 104d6ef5e153020d… · 129 KB

EU ECHO daily map of the flood extent, 8 June 2023

ERCC - Emergency Response Coordination Centre · 2023-06-08 · Public domain · original ↗

SHA-256 3f6ec130426be0c1… · 402 KB

Download pack (ZIP · 6 files)Openly licensed official material only; videos are linked to the official post. No image shows the dead; images of graphic aftermath are blurred until tapped and marked sensitive in the pack. This is not an evidence repository: originals are held by the Prosecutor General (warcrimes.gov.ua) and the ICC OTP.