Almost 55 thousand hectares of forests may be flooded with water in the Kherson region as a result of the explosion of the Kakhovka hydropower plant by Russian troops, of which 47 thousand hectares are occupied territories, said the director of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” Yuri Bolokhovets.
“It is quite difficult to assess the damage caused to forestry now, because we do not have access to the occupied territories. However, it is possible to predict the situation,” he wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
Bolokhovets noted that the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region is planted with pine forests. The fertile layer of forests and young plantings could have already been literally swept away by the flow of water.
Pine grows well where it is dry, the expert explains. Stagnant water in waterlogged places provokes the development of root rot and changes the acidity of the soil. It can kill trees if the water stagnates for up to 20 days, as it is predicted. Trees under 10 years of age are particularly endangered, the report says.
Of particular concern to the head of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine” are wild animals, which found themselves in flooded areas. “If there is still hope for the preservation of plants in the forest, the animals are actually doomed. Perhaps some may be able to cling to an island of land, but the vast majority will simply be carried by the current into the open sea. These are deer, roe deer, wild boar. Lizards, snakes, hares, hedgehogs have no chance”, Bolokhovets notes.
He also pointed out that the threat of flooding is close to Kynburne Spit, most of which is below sea level. According to him, the isthmus at the end of the bay outside the Dnieper delta is likely to be almost completely flooded, and this could happen in 50 hours after the breach of the dam.
“The regional landscape park “Kinburn Spit”, which has been suffering from fires as a result of shelling for more than a year, may now be partially under water,” said Bolokhovets.
It is noted that due to the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station into the Dnieper about 150 tons of machine grease, the precipitation of which on plants leads to irreversible consequences in the process of photosynthesis.
“Such actions of a terrorist country are ecocide, for which they will have to answer”, – summarized the head of the state enterprise “Forests of Ukraine”.
