Them immediate consequences her collapse of the Nova Kahovka dam residents living along the Dnieper River who have been called to evacuate their homes since yesterday are called to face now.

The concerns for one massive environmental disaster in Ukraine have long focused on Zaporizhia nuclear power plant owned by Russia, however, the disaster finally came after the explosion at the dam. The tons of water and mud that overwhelmed the area islands and wetlands disappeared from one moment to the next. Alongside, thousands of homes and livelihoods have been swept away by the rapids, along with countless domesticated and wild animals.

It could take years, if not decades, for fauna and flora to recover, experts warn. The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, characterized her “the biggest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades”. In his overnight speech posted early Wednesday, Zelensky called the attack “homicide”, saying characteristically: “An oil spill of at least 150 tons was formed and carried by the current into the Black Sea. We cannot yet predict how much of the chemicals, fertilizers and petroleum products stored in the flooded areas will end up in rivers and the sea.”

The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Andriy Melnik characterized for his part the blowing up of the dam “Europe’s worst environmental disaster since Chernobyl”.

“Now we know that potentially 600 or maybe even 800 tons of oil has been released into the water,” Ukraine’s Environment Minister Ruslan Strilets said in Brussels. “This oil spill will drift into the Dnieper River and I’m sure it will go into the Black Sea,” he said.

According to Olexi Pasyuk, an activist with the CEE environmental group Bankwatch, the “temporary effects” of the flood could last up to a week.

“However, later the biggest impact will be caused by the lack of water as the Kahovka Reservoir is a source for the irrigation system of the southern region of Kherson,” he added. “We can expect significant problems for agriculture and for the local people who make a living from it,” he said.

Kahovka Dam

Draining the reservoir could also have a dramatic impact on occupied Crimean peninsula. One of the first actions of Russian forces after the invasion last year was to reopen a water channel connected to the reservoir that had been closed by Ukraine after the 2014 annexation.

Iiulia Markhel, coordinator of Let’s Do It Ukraine SOS, the country’s largest environmental NGO, called the dam burst a “catastrophe”.

“The animals, the species, will be destroyed,” he told Politico. “It will change the climate of the entire region. Ukrainian agricultural lands have probably been destroyed. The area will be flooded. The places where the water will leave will turn into deserts, the places where the water will remain will become swamps.”

The 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 fruit and grapes,” according to thinktank EastFruit.