The Ministry of Economy of Ukraine has assessed the cost of the direct damage caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and dam to be worth at least $2 billion, the press service of the ministry reported on June 30.
The analysis by experts from the Ministry of Economy, the Ministry of Infrastructure, the President’s Office, and the Kyiv School of Economics, includes losses in the housing and utilities sector, as well as energy, agriculture, transportation, environment, and industry.
“We continue to record the damage and calculate the losses caused by Russia’s demolition of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam,” said Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.
“The housing stock of Kherson and Mykolaiv oblasts suffered serious losses. Direct damage from the flooding of private homes and related infrastructure is estimated at $950 million. More than a quarter of the total amount of damage – $586 million – is related to the destruction of the hydroelectric power plant itself, which will have to be built from scratch.”
Svyrydenko said that the Ministry of Environment has separately assessed the environmental damage to be worth at least $1.5 billion. One of the ministry’s top priorities now is to provide the affected regions with clean drinking water.
“The budget committee has approved the allocation of $41 million (UAH 1.5 billion) for the construction of main water pipelines,” said Svyrydenko.
The experts provided a breakdown of approximate estimates of losses in various industries. They include:
Housing: $950 million in losses. About 20,000-30,000 houses in Kherson Oblast and more than 500 private houses in Mykolaiv Oblast are estimated to have been flooded.
Energy sector: $624 million in losses. The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was destroyed and cannot be restored, with damage of $586 million in the total losses of the sector. The cost of a new hydroelectric power plant will reach $1 billion.
Transportation and infrastructure: $311 million in losses. More than 290 kilometers of roads were damaged by the flood.
Industry: $105 million in losses, 28 large industrial facilities located on the right and left banks of the Dnipro River were flooded.
Agriculture: $25 million in losses.
Environment and ecology: $1.5 billion in losses. About 150 tons of oil leaked during the dam explosion. The salinity level of the Black Sea near Odesa is almost three times lower than normal.
On June 6, at about 3 a.m., Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and dam.
As a result, 80 settlements were flooded and 16,000 people had to be evacuated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Russia’s actions an act of ecocide.
The Office of the Prosecutor General has opened proceedings under the articles of the Criminal Code on Ecocide and Violation of the Traditions and Customs of War.