Ukraine may lose several million tons of crops due to explosion of Kakhovka HPP - Ministry of Agrarian Policy
Several million tons of Ukrainian crops may be lost due to flooding as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP.
This was stated by First Deputy Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Taras Vysotskyi, reports Censor.NЕТ.
It is noted that the flooded lands require a full agro-ecological assessment of the soil condition, but after the water has subsided. In most cases, special soil restoration methods will need to be applied.
"Two main blocks of products were grown on the land affected by the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, one of them being vegetables and melons. The second block is grains and oilseeds: soybeans, corn, sunflower, wheat. Without a water supply, it is impossible to grow vegetables. Grain and oilseeds will be grown using an extensive model with low yields," explained Vysotskyi.
He also emphasized that it is currently difficult to assess the damage to the left bank of the Kherson region, but it is known that several hundred thousand tons of grain were stored there. On the right bank, more than 100 thousand tons of crops were lost.
The First Deputy Minister claims that the biggest threat to international food security is the inability to grow several million tons of grain and oilseeds without irrigation.
As Censor.NET reported, on the morning of June 6, it became known that the Russian occupiers had blown up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. The explosion completely destroyed the engine room, and the station is beyond repair.
Evacuations have begun in the region. As many as 80 settlements may be flooded. In total, 16 thousand people are in the critical zone on the right bank of the Dnipro River.
The explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant threatens the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, but the situation is now under control. The explosion could also cause an imbalance in Ukraine's energy system. Fields in southern Ukraine could turn into a desert.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, no one but Russia had the technical capability to blow up the hydroelectric power plant. The NYT interviewed experts and also concluded that the plant was blown up from the inside. The telegram channel of the 205th motorized rifle brigade of the Russian Federation, which is suspected of blowing up the dam, wrote about the mining of the hydroelectric power plant and the possibility of blowing it up in October 2022.
The Kremlin claims that the Russians are allegedly not involved in the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant explosion and puts all the responsibility on Ukrainians.
