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?
The White House is considering inviting Volodymyr Zelenskyy to a meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska, according to reports in the US.
The reports come a day after Washington and Moscow confirmed the US and Russian presidents will meet on Friday to discuss bringing about an end to the war in Ukraine.
A senior US official and three people briefed on internal discussions have told Sky News’ US partner network NBC News that the Trump administration is now considering inviting the Ukrainian president to the summit.
“It’s being discussed,” one of the people briefed on the talks was quoted as saying.
The sources said a visit by Mr Zelenskyy has not been finalised – and it is unclear whether the Ukrainian leader will be in Alaska for the summit.
However, the senior administration official said it is “absolutely” possible.
“Everyone is very hopeful that would happen,” the official said.
Asked whether the US had officially invited Mr Zelenskyy to Alaska, a senior White House official said: “The President remains open to a trilateral summit with both leaders. Right now, the White House is focusing on planning the bilateral meeting requested by President Putin.”
Mr Trump told reporters at the White House on Friday before the Alaska summit was confirmed that “we’re getting very close to a deal” that would end the war.
The US president added there will be “some swapping of territories to the betterment of both sides”.
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US diplomacy ‘totally amateur’
Zelenskyy suggests he’s unwilling to give up territory
However, the Ukrainian president warned on Saturday that allowing Russia to keep territory it has occupied in Ukraine will result in another invasion.
He said allowing Mr Putin to annex Crimea in 2014 didn’t prevent Russia forces from occupying more parts of Ukraine during the current conflict.
Mr Zelenskyy added: “Now, Putin wants to be forgiven for seizing the south of our Kherson region, Zaporizhzhia, the entire territory of Luhansk and Donetsk regions, and Crimea. We will not allow this second attempt to partition Ukraine.
“Knowing Russia – where there is a second, there will be a third.”
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Zelenskyy: Ukraine will not give land to ‘occupier’
NATO allies say Ukraine must be involved in negotiations
The reports Mr Zelenksyy could be invited to Alaska come as Ukraine and several NATO allies have reportedly been privately concerned Mr Trump might agree to Mr Putin’s proposals for ending the war without taking their positions into account.
In a joint statement on Saturday night, UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and the leaders of France, Italy, Germany, Poland, Finland and the European Commission said Ukraine’s future cannot be decided without Kyiv.
They said: “Ukraine has the freedom of choice over its own destiny. Meaningful negotiations can only take place in the context of a ceasefire or reduction of hostilities.
“The path to peace in Ukraine cannot be decided without Ukraine.
“We remain committed to the principle that international borders must not be changed by force.
“The current line of contact should be the starting point of negotiations.”
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From left: Volodymr Zelenskyy, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin. Pics: AP
UK hosts Ukrainian officials ahead of summit
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy had earlier hosted a meeting of top Ukrainian officials and European national security advisers alongside US vice-president JD Vance on Saturday ahead of the Trump-Putin meeting.
The meeting took place at the foreign secretary’s official country retreat, Chevening, in Kent, where Mr Vance is staying at the start of a UK holiday.
After the meeting, Mr Lammy said: “The UK’s support for Ukraine remains ironclad as we continue working towards a just and lasting peace.”
From left: Rustem Umerov, David Lammy, JD Vance and Andriy Yermak. Pic: X/David Lammy
It is understood that the meeting had been called at Washington’s request, and included representatives from the US, Ukraine, France, Germany, Italy, Finland and Poland as well as the UK.
Ukraine was represented by Rustem Umerov, secretary of the country’s national security and defence council, and the head of Mr Zelensky’s office, Andriy Yermak.
In a post on social media, Mr Yermak said the allies’ positions were “clear” that “a reliable, lasting peace is only possible with Ukraine at the negotiating table, with full respect for our sovereignty and without recognising the occupation”.
Ahead of the meeting at Chevening, Sir Keir discussed the talks in a call with Mr Zelenskyy on Saturday and also spoke to French President Emmanuel Macron.
A Downing Street spokeswoman said Sir Keir and Mr Macron “discussed the latest developments in Ukraine, reiterating their unwavering support for President Zelenskyy and to securing a just and lasting peace for the Ukrainian people”.
The location of Alaska is unexpected.
Although close to Russia geographically – less than three miles away at the narrowest point – it’s a very long way from neutral ground.
The expectation was they would meet somewhere in the middle. Saudi Arabia perhaps, or the United Arab Emirates. But no, Vladimir Putin will be travelling to Donald Trump’s backyard.
Follow latest: Zelenskyy says Ukraine will not give up land
It’ll be the first time the Russian president has visited the US since September 2015, when he spoke at the UN General Assembly. Barack Obama was in the White House. How times have changed a decade on.
The US is not a member of the International Criminal Court, so there’s no threat of arrest for Vladimir Putin.
But to allow his visit to happen, the US Treasury Department will presumably have to lift sanctions on the Kremlin leader, as it did when his investment envoy Kirill Dmitriev flew to Washington in April.
And I think that points to one reason why Putin would agree to a summit in Alaska.
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Can Trump end the war in Ukraine?
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Instead of imposing sanctions on Russia, as Trump had threatened in recent days, the US would be removing one. Even if only temporary, it would be hugely symbolic and a massive victory for Moscow.
The American leader might think he owns the optics – the peace-making president ordering a belligerent aggressor to travel to his home turf – but the visuals more than work for Putin too.
Shunned by the West since his invasion, this would signal an emphatic end to his international isolation.
Donald Trump has said a ceasefire deal is close. The details are still unclear but there are reports it could involve Ukraine surrendering territory, something Volodymyr Zelenskyy has always adamantly opposed.
Either way, Putin will have what he wants – the chance to carve up his neighbour without Kyiv being at the table.
And that’s another reason why Putin would agree to a summit, regardless of location. Because it represents a real possibility of achieving his goals.
It’s not just about territory for Russia. It also wants permanent neutrality for Ukraine and limits to its armed forces – part of a geopolitical strategy to prevent NATO expansion.
In recent months, despite building US pressure, Moscow has shown no intention of stopping the war until those demands are met.
It may be that Vladimir Putin thinks a summit with Donald Trump offers the best chance of securing them.
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It’s been four years since a US president met Putin – and Trump will have a lot of ice to break
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin will meet where their countries brush shoulders.
But why Alaska and why now?
A US-Russia summit in Alaska is geography as metaphor and message.
Alaska physically bridges both countries across the polar expanse.
Follow latest: Ukraine war live updates
Choosing this location signals strategic parity – the US and Russian leaders face to face in a place where their interests literally meet.
Alaska has surged in geopolitical importance due to its untapped fossil fuels.
Trump has aggressively pushed for more control in the Arctic, plans for Greenland and oil access.
Holding talks there centres the conversation where global energy and territorial stakes are high, and the US president thrives on spectacle.
Reuters file pic
A dramatic summit in the rugged frontier of Alaska plays into his flair for the theatrical.
It is brand Trump – a stage that frames him as bold, unorthodox and in command.
It was 2021 when a US president last came face-to-face with a Russian president.
The leaders of the two countries haven’t met since Russia invaded Ukraine.
Pic: AP
But Trump is in touch with all sides – Russia, Ukraine and European leaders – and says they all, including Putin, want “to see peace”.
He’s even talking up the potential shape of any deal and how it might involve the “swapping of territory”.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly insisted he will not concede territory annexed by Russia.
Moscow has sent the White House a list of demands in return for a ceasefire.
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‘I’m not against meeting Zelenskyy’
Trump is attempting to secure buy-in from Zelenskyy and other European leaders.
He styles himself as “peacemaker-in-chief” and claims credit for ending six wars since he returned to office 200 days ago.
There’s much ice to break if he’s to secure a coveted seventh one in Alaska.
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