Ukraine war: The Kakhovka reservoir was once the second biggest in Europe – now it’s nearly empty and threatening the world’s food supply
For seven decades a vast reservoir has dominated the landscape here as Europe’s second biggest.
Not anymore.
It has been robbed of most of its water, drained away after the Nova Kakhovka dam was blown up, it’s believed by the Russians.
The sight is astonishing.
Where there had been just water, vast sandbanks stretch into the distance. It looks like a desert.
We crossed the barren landscape with Andriy Starko an engineer whose job is to pump the water out of the reservoir.
We stood next to a vast intake. It should be sucking water out of the reservoir at the rate of four million litres an hour. Instead, it’s a stagnant green pool. The odd fish flops languidly in the foul-smelling waters.
How did you feel when you heard they’d blown the dam I asked him.
“I didn’t believe that that something like that could happen. I can’t believe that a human brain can even consider that kind of barbaric act. I just can’t believe that,” he said.
Andriy knows thousands of hectares of farmland depend on the water he can no longer pump. He fears for his own future too.
And there is something else worrying him and everyone here.
Empty water pumping system on the edge of the reservoir
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‘It looks like a scene from Chernobyl’
The tall chimneys of the Zaporizhia nuclear power station shimmer in the distance across the sand.
Andriy voiced a concern you hear more and more here, and now the Ukrainian government has warned the Russians have mined part of the power plant and could blow it up next.
“You can expect anything from them. I don’t think they are a civilised people. They’re just unpredictable. I’m worried yes I’m really worried,” he added.
Inside the pumping station where Andriy works, or used to at least, it looks like a scene from Chernobyl before disaster struck. Big Soviet era machines sit idle. They should be throbbing with noise pumping water out of the reservoir and into canals, gallons of it every hour now that harvest is only a few months away.
Not now. The pressure dials on the machines stand at zero. There’s just bird noise.
The water should be going into a vast network of canals in the months before harvest. More than a million acres of farmland depends on canals on both sides of the reservoir for irrigation, land that produces two million tonnes of grain a year.
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Ukraine may be famous for its rich black soil, but it’s not much use without water.
In a field of young corn, Farmer Anton Hryn says his harvest could be cut by as much as two thirds.
“If we had water, if the irrigation would work, we can have 10, 12 or even more tons of corn a hectare but without it, it will be three or four maybe five it depends on the rain,” he said.
That is ominous not just for Ukraine. It is called the breadbasket of the world. Many poorer countries depend on its grain exports already cut by difficulties shipping it out.
Villagers queue every day to collect water for their homes
It’s not just farming the empty reservoir is impacting – it’s everyday life
The drought is affecting ordinary people too. Towns dotted along the shore of the reservoir are now without water in their taps.
In the town of Marhanets, the streets are full of people carrying containers to and from impromptu water stations. Life now revolves around the need to get water which is being trucked in instead.
Anastasya has a six-month-old baby at home.
“It’s very bad, very bad,” she told us. “I have a small child and every day I need to carry at least 12 of these bottles.”
And they’re also deeply alarmed by what Vladimir Putin plans to do now.
Valentyna worries that the Russians could cross the Dnipro river now it is empty in parts
“Of course I’m worried, we are worried for the nuclear power station,” Valentyna said. “We are worried about everything. Where should we go if something happened in the nuclear power station?
“We thought they wouldn’t blow up the dam, that it’s protected, that everything would be okay and now what can we hope for.”
Liliya said: “There are a lot of rumours. The power station is mined. At any moment it could just blow and that’s it. You can see we already have no water in the Dnipro river they can just walk easily here.”
The reservoir is no natural defence now against the Russians, having evaporated down to mudflats.
Across them, the nuclear power station is a brooding presence menacing the people here.
Along with the question, if Russians were prepared to destroy a dam and drain their reservoir – what are they planning to do next?
World
Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrives in Saudi Arabia ahead of US-Ukraine meeting – as Marco Rubio says Kyiv should be ‘prepared to do difficult things’
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Saudi Arabia ahead of his team having talks with America’s top diplomat on Tuesday.
Mr Zelenskyy will not be at the meeting with US secretary of state Marco Rubio, but Mr Zelenskyy’s team will try to improve relations following his disastrous 28 February visit to Washington, which descended into an Oval Office argument with President Donald Trump and vice president JD Vance.
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Mr Zelenskyy with Prince Saud bin Mishaal, and Saudi commerce minister Majid bin Abdullah al Qasabi. Pic: AP
Mr Zelenskyy is due to meet Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman later on Monday, after the end of the daily fast during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio is also in Jeddah. He is not due to meet Mr Zelenskyy – but he held talks with Prince Mohammed to discuss Yemen and threats to ships from Houthis, Syria, and the reconstruction of Gaza.
During talks on Tuesday the Ukrainian team will try to convince the US to restore military aid and intelligence that had helped Kyiv since Russia‘s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Speaking to reporters while travelling to Jeddah, Mr Rubio said if Ukraine and the US reach an understanding acceptable to Mr Trump, that could accelerate his administration’s push to peace talks.
“What we want to know is, are they interested [in] entering some sort of peace conversation and general outlines of the kinds of things they could consider, recognising that it has been a costly and bloody war for the Ukrainians,” Mr Rubio said.
“They have suffered greatly and their people have suffered greatly. And it’s hard in the aftermath of something like that to even talk about concessions, but that’s the only way this is going to end and prevent more suffering.”
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‘We want Ukraine to be serious’ about peace
He said: “I’m not going to set any conditions on what they have to or need to do. I think we want to listen to see how far they’re willing to go and then compare that to what the Russians want and see how far apart we truly are.”
He added: “The most important thing that we have to leave here with is a strong sense that Ukraine is prepared to do difficult things, like the Russians are going to have to do difficult things to end this conflict.”
Meanwhile, British prime minister Sir Keir Starmer spoke to Mr Trump on Monday ahead of the US-Ukraine meeting.
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A Downing Street readout of the call said that Sir Keir told the president that “UK officials had been speaking to Ukraine officials over the weekend and they remain committed to a lasting peace”.
“The prime minister said he hoped there would be a positive outcome to the talks that would enable US aid and intelligence sharing to be restarted,” the statement said.
“The two leaders also spoke about the economic deal they had discussed at the White House and the prime minister welcomed the detailed conversations that had already happened to move this forward. Both leaders agreed to stay in touch.”
The European Union agreed last week to boost the continent’s defences and free up hundreds of billions of euros for security in response to the Trump administration’s shift in policy towards Ukraine.
A US intelligence official said a pause on sharing US intelligence that can be used for offensive purposes by Ukrainian forces remains in effect.
The official suggested that progress could be made towards reinstating intelligence sharing with Ukraine during the Saudi talks.
Syria’s interim government has signed a deal with the Kurdish-led authority that controls the country’s oil-rich northeast.
The agreement – which includes a ceasefire and the merging of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) there into the Syrian army – will bring most of the nation under the control of the government.
The government is currently led by Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al Sham, which helped to topple president Bashar al Assad in December.
Syria’s interim president Ahmad al Sharaa (R) shakes hands with Mazloum Abdi, the commander of Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. Pic: AP
Recent clashes have seen more than 1,000 people killed amid violence between government supporters and those thought to be loyal to the ousted leader.
On Monday, the deal was signed by interim president Ahmad al Sharaa and Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the US-backed SDF.
The deal – to be implemented by the end of the year – would bring all border crossings with Iraq and Turkey, airports and oil fields in the northeast under the central government’s control.
Prisons, where about 9,000 suspected members of the Islamic State group are being held, are also expected to come under government control.
Syria’s Kurds will gain their “constitutional rights” including using and teaching their language, which were banned for decades under Mr Assad.
Hundreds of thousands of Kurds who were displaced during Syria’s nearly 14-year civil war will return to their homes.
The deal will also allow all Syrians to be part of the political process, no matter their religion or ethnicity.
Clashes between government supporters and those loyal to Bashar al Assad have seen more than 1,000 people killed. Pic: AP
A coffin carrying the body of Nawaf Khalil Baytar, who was killed during the recent wave of violence. Pic: AP
Syria’s new rulers are struggling to exert their authority across the country and reach political settlements with other minority communities, notably the Druze in southern Syria.
Earlier in the day, the government announced the end of the military operation against insurgents loyal to Mr Assad and his family in the worst fighting since the end of the civil war.
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Surge of violence in Syria explained
The defence ministry’s announcement came after a surprise attack by gunmen from the Alawite community on a police patrol near the port city of Latakia on Thursday spiralled into widespread clashes across Syria’s coastal region.
The Assad family are Alawites.
Pic: AP
Pic: AP
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Defence ministry spokesperson Colonel Abdel-Ghani said security forces will continue searching for sleeper cells and remnants of the insurgency of former government loyalists.
Though the government’s counter-offensive was able to mostly contain the insurgency, footage surfaced of what appeared to be retaliatory attacks targeting the broader minority Alawite community, an offshoot of Shia Islam whose adherents live mainly in the western coastal region.
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitoring group, said 1,130 people were killed in the clashes, including 830 civilians.
The interim president said the retaliatory attacks against Alawite civilians and mistreatment of prisoners were isolated incidents, and vowed to crack down on the perpetrators as he formed a committee to investigate.
World
Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney named prime minister of Canada – succeeding Justin Trudeau
Former Bank of England governor Mark Carney has been named Canadian prime minister after winning the Liberal Party leadership in a landslide victory.
Mr Carney, who also used to head up Canada’s central bank, had emerged as the frontrunner as his country was hit with tariffs imposed by President Trump.
He ended up winning 85.9% of the vote.
During his victory speech, he told the crowd: “Donald Trump, as we know, has put unjustified tariffs on what we build, on what we sell and how we make a living.
“He’s attacking Canadian families, workers and businesses and we cannot let him succeed and we won’t.”
Mr Carney said Canada would keep retaliatory tariffs until “the Americans show us respect”.
Mr Trump’s tariffs against Canada and his talk of making the country America’s 51st state have infuriated Canadians.
The American national anthem has been repeatedly booed at NHL and NBA games.
“Think about it. If they succeeded, they would destroy our way of life… America is a melting pot. Canada is a mosaic,” Mr Carney added.
“America is not Canada. Canada will never ever be part of America in any way, shape or form.”
An easy pick for his party – but now he must win over Canada
Mark Carney had no problem convincing the Liberal Party he was the best man for the job. 85.9% of the vote speaks for itself. Now he must convince the country.
After unparalleled experience as central bank governor, both of Canada and of the UK, albeit at different times, he has the economic wherewithal to fortify the economy against the battering Donald Trump seems intent on dealing it.
He has made it very clear he is ready for the fight to come. “In trade, as in hockey, we will win!” he told his fellow liberals to wild applause. “We’re strongest when we are united,” he told the country on X.
His conservative rivals had what seemed like an unbeatable lead in the polls until just a few short weeks ago, but Trump’s trade tariffs have rallied Canadians behind the flag and their government.
That gives Mr Carney momentum ahead of a general election that will likely come sooner rather than later. Now he must exercise the political genius to capitalise on that.
The 59-year-old will replace Justin Trudeau, who has served as prime minister since 2015.
Mr Trudeau announced he was stepping down in January after facing calls to quit from a chorus of his own MPs.
The 53-year-old’s popularity had declined as food and house prices rose. He will stay in post until Mr Carney is sworn in.
Mr Carney will soon have to decide when to call a general election – a vote must take place on or before 20 October.
In 2013, he became the first non-UK citizen to run the Bank of England since it was founded in 1694.
His appointment came after Canada recovered from the 2008 financial crisis faster than many other countries.
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‘You can’t take our country or our game’
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During leadership debates, Mr Carney argued he was the only person prepared to handle Trump.
“I know how to manage crises,” he said.
“In a situation like this, you need experience in terms of crisis management, you need negotiating skills.”
The surge in Canadian nationalism has bolstered the Liberal Party’s chances in a parliamentary election.
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