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
Ten explosions near international airport in India-administered part of Kashmir, officials say
Ten explosions have been heard near Srinagar International Airport in India-administered parts of Kashmir, officials have told Reuters news agency.
The blasts followed blackouts caused by multiple projectiles, which were seen in the sky above the city of Jammu earlier on Friday.
Explosions were also heard in the Sikh holy city of Amritsar, in the neighbouring Punjab state, according to Reuters.
An Indian military official told the agency that “drones have been sighted” and “they are being engaged”.
It comes as tensions between India and Pakistan across the line of control around the region of Kashmir have boiled over this week, leading to fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday morning, India carried out missile strikes in Pakistan and Pakistan-administered parts of the disputed region.
The retaliation came weeks after 26 people, mainly Indian tourists, were shot dead by gunmen in an India-administered part of Kashmir last month.
The government in India said it hit nine “terrorist infrastructure” sites, while Pakistan said it was not involved in the April attack and the sites were not militant bases.
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Explained: India-Pakistan conflict
Around 48 people have been killed since Wednesday, according to casualty estimates on both sides – which have not been independently verified.
India also suspended its top cricket tournament, the Indian Premier League, as a result of rising tensions, while the Pakistan Super League moved the remainder of its season to the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a conference on Friday that the US is in constant contact with both India and Pakistan.
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Conclaves are famously unpredictable affairs – and once again the election of Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as the new pope caught many by surprise.
The newly elected Pope Leo XIV won the consensus of the 133 cardinal electors after only four ballots – a fast process for a diverse college of cardinals.
Though his name had circulated among some Vatican watchers, other cardinals had emerged as clear front-runners, including Pietro Parolin – the Vatican’s number two who would have been the first Italian in almost 50 years to become pontiff – or Luis Tagle, a Filipino cardinal looking to become the first Asian pope.
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What are the conclave’s secrecy measures?
Instead, it was the first North American to win the highly secretive process.
So, what went on behind the closed doors of the Sistine Chapel?
Until Thursday lunchtime, Cardinal Parolin was ahead, gathering between 45 and 55 votes, sources say.
A substantial number, but well short of the 89 votes he needed for a two-thirds majority.
At this point, Cardinal Prevost had between 34 and 44 votes.
But as the Italian struggled to grow his support during the first three rounds of voting, he stepped down from the race, endorsing Prevost instead, Sky News understands.
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Who is Pope Leo?
An internal battle between Luis Tagle and Pablo Virgilio David – both cardinals hailing from Asia – cancelled out both of their chances.
And a contender from Africa – the most conservative sector of the church – was never likely for a conclave where the overwhelming majority of cardinals had been appointed by Francis, a progressive pontiff, sources say.
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Moment new pope emerges on balcony
An American pope has long been seen as highly improbable, given the geopolitical power of the US.
But Cardinal Prevost was able to draw from across the groups making up the electors: moderate US cardinals, South American cardinals and many European cardinals all coalesced around him.
Italian newspaper La Repubblica said Prevost “certainly attracted cross-party preferences, both ideologically and geographically”.
“In the conclave he was the least American of Americans: Born in Chicago, he lived 20 years in Peru,” the newspaper said.
It added: “As a man used to teamwork, Prevost appeared to many as the right man to make the papacy evolve into a more collegial form.”
Standing on Red Square, this was an intimidating sight, which felt much more like a celebration of war rather than peace.
I could feel the ground shake as the tanks rolled past, their caterpillar tracks on the ancient cobbles providing a deafening clatter.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up in fear as the phalanxes of troops roared “Hurrah” in response to their commander in chief.
And the sight of combat drones being paraded on their launchers was actually quite sickening. Weapons that have been at the forefront of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine were paraded in a show of pomp and patriotism.
Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin watch the procession. Pic: Reuters
Ukraine war latest: Putin welcomes Xi at Victory Day parade
For the rest of Europe, the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War has been a celebration of peace, but this felt much more like a celebration of war.
And it wasn’t just military hardware on display here, but the very identity of modern Russia.
Pic: Reuters
For this is a country that is now defined by its military and its memory. The glory and sacrifice of 1945 have been weaponised to give credence to Russia’s current course and to make people believe that victory is their right.
For Russians, it served as a rallying cry and there was applause when the troops who have fought against Ukraine marched past.
But for those watching in Kyiv and other European capitals, it was an overt warning that Moscow has no intention of backing down.
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Putin hails sacrifice of Russian troops
The parade was considerably larger in scale than in recent years, when units and hardware have been needed on the battlefield. I think it was a deliberate attempt to project an image of confidence, and so was Vladimir Putin‘s positioning of his guests.
China’s Xi Jinping was given a prime position on the Kremlin leader’s right-hand side. It was no surprise given the economic lifeline Beijing has provided, but it felt like a particularly pointed gesture to the West – that they were looking at a new world order.
Despite that appearance of confidence, there were signs of Moscow’s unease that the parade could be disrupted.
There were snipers on every rooftop. Security was extremely tight. And the mobile internet signal across the city centre was completely shut down for fear of Ukrainian drone attacks, meaning none of the international media that had gathered could broadcast any live transmissions.
After the parade finished, Putin saluted the crowds as they spontaneously erupted into rhythmic shouts of “Rus-si-ya” at the sight of him.
Another PR coup complete without interruption, he will have departed as a very happy man.
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