MOSCOW, June 19. /TASS/. At least 30% of water samples taken in the Odessa, Nikolayev, and Kherson Regions do not meet hygienic standards following the collapse of the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant (HPP), the Ukrainian health ministry said on Monday.
"In bodies of water in the Kherson, Odessa, and Nikolayev Regions, some indicators significantly exceed hygienic and sanitary standards. At least 30% of samples taken in surface water bodies and recreational zones do not meet hygienic requirements (185 out of 579 samples)," it said.
According to the ministry, the worst situation is in the Odessa Region. "Forty water monitoring stations have been established along the riverbed in the flooded areas and along the sea coast in the Odessa, Nikolayev, and Kherson Regions after the collapse of the Kakhovka HPP. The most hazardous pathogens are salmonellae, rotavirus, helminth eggs and larvae, E. coli."
On the morning of June 6, the Ukrainian military launched a missile attack on the Kakhovka HPP, which resulted in the destruction of gate sluice valves at the HPP’s dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. Water levels in Novaya Kakhovka rose to 12 meters, but now the water is subsiding. There are 35 communities in the flood zone. People are being evacuated from flooded areas. According to the latest data, thirty-five people have died and 110 have been hospitalized. The destruction of the hydropower plant has caused serious environmental damage with farmlands along the Dnieper River being washed away. Additionally, there is a risk that the North Crimean Canal may run low and become too shallow.
Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the strike on the Kakhovka dam as an act of deliberate sabotage by Ukrainian forces, adding that the Kiev regime should bear full responsibility for its consequences.