From Terrorist Tragedy to Ecological Rebirth: The Consequences of the Ukrainian Kakhovka Hydropower Plant Attack
A Tragedy That Transformed the Landscape
On the night of June 6, 2023, the world witnessed one of the greatest man-made disasters of our time. Russian occupation forces destroyed the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station, destroying a reservoir that had existed for seventy years. The dam was built in 1956 on the largest river in Ukraine, the Dnipro, submerging over half a million acres of picturesque wetlands and forests to create Europe’s largest reservoir. This reservoir became the sixth and final one in the cascade of reservoirs along the Dnipro. Over the following decades, it turned into a major accumulation site for pollutants from the entire watershed, as the Kakhovka Reservoir had the largest surface area, the most silt deposits, and the least water movement.
After Russian forces detonated the dam, enormous masses of water and contaminated silt surged downstream, sweeping away cities, villages, farms, and protected areas. Many people and wild animals lost their lives as more than 230 square miles were swept into the Black Sea by the current. Ecosystems that had formed over centuries in the Dnipro River delta suffered irreversible changes. Without a doubt, these events marked the largest technological and environmental catastrophe in Ukraine’s history.
The First Days After the Disaster: Scientists Take to the Field
From the very first days following the terrorist attack, a team of scientists from Conservation Allies partner—the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG)—traveled to the disaster zone to document the extent of the damage and understand how nature was responding. These expeditions to the disaster site provided a unique opportunity to observe an ecosystem recovering after being submerged for decades.
Devastation reminiscent of scenes from apocalyptic films was visible at the site of the catastrophe: the dried reservoir bed was strewn with dead fish, mollusks, crayfish, and tree debris. However, within just a few weeks, everything began to change. Where there had once been only silt and cracks, the first plants—willows and poplars—started sprouting from seeds. It was a true rebirth of nature, something no one could have predicted. Over the next year and a half, the entire area previously covered by the reservoir transformed into a dense young forest, now home to approximately 40 billion trees. The tallest of them have already reached five meters in height.
“The attack on the Kakhovka HPP was the most devastating environmental impact of the Russian-Ukrainian war. It was not just an act of terrorism but also the largest case of reservoir destruction in history. After this, the term ‘ecocide’ ceased to be merely a rhetorical device used by environmentalists and became a widely recognized term in international negotiations.” stated Olexii Vasyliuk, Head of the Board of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group. “It will take at least several decades to restore the biodiversity of the land that was submerged after Russian troops blew up the dam. No less time will be needed to recover the biodiversity of the Black Sea, whose coastal waters were suddenly flooded with 14 cubic kilometers of heavily polluted freshwater.”
Please help support UNCG’s work to research and restore Ukraine’s wonderful natural habitats and biodiversity in the face of tremendous adversity. Thank you.
Studying the Newly Born Great Meadow
Expeditions conducted over several months covered dozens of locations. Scientists collected water and soil samples, studied changes in flora and fauna, and documented the formation of new biotopes in place of the former reservoir.
Soil analysis yielded alarming results. Most samples showed significantly high concentrations of heavy metals, including arsenic, lead, and zinc. This indicated that the reservoir’s silt had accumulated toxins over the years, originating from powerful industrial enterprises, and now these pollutants were exposed on the surface. Can nature heal this land on its own? Or is human intervention necessary? These questions will be the focus of research in 2025.
At the same time, phenomenal natural ecosystem recovery was visible. Despite all challenges, nature demonstrated an incredible ability to restore precisely those biotopes that had been flooded when the reservoir was created in the 1950s.
📽️ Watch the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKBHb3L_rQ8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OCLKgKUJmxQ
The “Great Meadow” (Velykyi Luh) was a vast floodplain of the Dnipro River, historically home to diverse wetlands, grasslands, and forests. It played a crucial role in the region’s ecology and was an important cultural and economic area for the Zaporozhian Cossacks, who thrived there between the 16th and 18th centuries. Now, as the land re-emerges after the reservoir’s destruction, this name is used to reflect both its historical significance and the opportunity for natural restoration.
The Great Meadow: A Chance for Nature or the Temptation to Intervene Again?
Ukraine now faces a difficult question: what should be done with the territory of the former reservoir? Some politicians advocate for rebuilding it, arguing that this is the only way to restore infrastructure. However, many ecologists and scientists believe that nature should be given the chance for full recovery.
📽️ Watch the discussion:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFe4e5rwN-o&t=355s
Restoring the Great Meadow as a natural complex could become a globally significant nature restoration project. This is an opportunity to bring back the steppes, wetlands, and floodplains that had existed in Ukraine for centuries. It is also a chance for Ukraine to set an example of sustainable development, where nature and people coexist harmoniously. Moreover, due to the war, nearly all forests in southern Ukraine have burned down. This new forest, now the largest in southern Ukraine, covers an area comparable in size to Luxembourg.
Why Are These Studies Important for the World?
Disasters of this scale are rare, and even rarer is the opportunity to observe natural restoration in real time. Ukrainian research could be key to understanding global ecological rewilding processes. It provides answers to questions about what happens when human impact is removed from vast areas and how quickly nature can recover.
These findings are significant not only for Ukraine but for the entire world. They could help reshape approaches to managing river ecosystems, assessing the risks of hydroelectric projects, and restoring damaged natural landscapes.
From Research to Publications
Based on months of work, dozens of expeditions, hundreds of collected samples, and thousands of pages of analysis, scientists have prepared two fundamental books. The first book examines the environmental consequences of the Kakhovka HPP terrorist attack, analyzing pollution, destruction, and long-term risks. The second book focuses on the future of the Great Meadow, exploring possible development scenarios and proposing pathways for natural restoration.
These publications are more than just scientific reports. They tell a story of tragedy and hope, a story of humanity’s struggle to understand nature and its future. They invite the global community into a dialogue: what should be done with the lands reclaimed by nature, and do we have the right to take them back? The research team of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group is convinced that the most environmentally beneficial future for these territories lies in rewilding—the natural restoration of wild ecosystems in place of the former reservoir. Ukraine has a unique opportunity to set a precedent that could transform the approach to restoring degraded ecosystems not only in Ukraine but worldwide.
Both books are currently available in Ukrainian and can be read online using automatic translation. A short English-language version of one of the publications has also been published. Full English translations are planned for release in 2025.
Please help support UNCG’s work to research and restore Ukraine’s wonderful natural habitats and biodiversity in the face of tremendous adversity. Thank you.