Voice of Ukraine

From Ira Kapitonova in Kyiv (Day 468):

The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
Psalm 18:2

This morning, my husband woke me up with the words, “They blew up the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant.” This news knocked the wind out of me and shook me on many levels. Since the morning, I knew what my tonight’s post would be about, and I spent this whole time trying to come up with appropriate words because the words in my heart were full of anger, grief, and contempt.

So, where do I begin? The Kakhovka Hydropower Plant (HPP) has been under Russian occupation since the first days of the full-scale war. Back in April 2022, they mined the machinery of the HPP, and last fall, just before they “willingly left” the right bank of the Kherson region, they mined the supporting pillars and other vital parts of the construction. Since April 2022, we knew of this possibility, but we wanted to believe they would have enough reason not to do it. However, it was a planned operation. Since March 2023, the occupational forces (who had complete control over the HPP) had been accumulating water in the Kakhovka reservoir, raising it to an extreme level. Over the spring months, the occupational authorities had been confiscating boats and other floating devices from the residents of the left bank of the Kherson region. Today, on June 6, 2023, at 02:50 am, they blew up the engine compartment of the Kakhovka HPP, damaging the dam and bringing a massive body of water on the unsuspecting people living down the stream. This HPP was built during the Cold War era, so it was built to withstand outside attacks, and only an enormous amount of the explosives used on the inside could damage the structure.

I am grieving. When you think Russians have caused enough pain and suffering, they outdo themselves yet again. While people were trying to evacuate from the flooded districts of Kherson, the Russians shelled the city, trying to maximize the damage. The left bank of the Kherson region (the still-occupied part) suffered more significant damage, yet the invaders forbid people from evacuation – people sit on the roofs of their houses in the Oleshky village and beg for help, yet it’s not clear if anyone would be allowed to come with help. The surge of water washed out mines along the roads, so now they float with the current, posing new unpredictable risks. Meanwhile, there are reports of Russian soldiers changing into civilian clothes and trying to get into the evacuation groups to cross the river and get into the liberated part of the Kherson region for sabotage and reconnaissance.

I am grieving:

• Thousands of people had to leave their homes.
• This is an ecological catastrophe of an immense scale that will change the ecosystem of the south of Ukraine. The flood has killed a lot of wild and domestic animals. The Nova Kakhovka Zoo reported that all its animals (except swimming birds) perished.
• This terrorist attack put the whole south of Ukraine at risk of being left without fresh water. The occupied Crimea used to get most of its fresh water supply from a channel streaming from the Kakhovka reservoir. Also, 94% of irrigation systems in the Kherson region, 74% in the Zaporizhzhia region, and 30% of the Dnipropetrovsk region depended on the water supply from the reservoir. The farming lands in these regions risk turning into a desert wasteland. It also threatens the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which uses the reservoir’s water to cool its reactors.

I am grieving for personal reasons as well. My paternal grandparents were among the builders constructing the Kakhovka HPP. Now, part of their legacy is gone. We also have relatives and friends living in the Kherson region, and even though they seem safe at the moment, they will definitely be affected. Also, this year, during our science classes, our son learned about an animal from a jerboa family, the type that is unique to Ukraine. He loved learning about that animal and dreamed of going to the (currently occupied) Oleshky desert after the war to learn more about them. The flood from the blown-up dam spread to the area of this animal’s habitat, and our environmentalists say that this endangered species may have become extinct.

I am devastated. I choke when I look at the pictures of people grabbing their pets and walking through waste-deep water to safety. I weep as I watch the video of two guys rowing on an inflatable boat during a shelling, trying to find people and animals that were left behind. I clench my fists and beg the Lord to pour out His judgment on those who bring so much death and devastation.

Being overwhelmed with thoughts about the Kakhovka dam, I almost missed the report that Russians attacked Ukraine with 35 missiles last night, but our air defense intercepted all 35. God is good and faithful, and He sent me this encouragement when I needed it the most.

He sent from on high, he took me;
he drew me out of many waters.
He rescued me from my strong enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too mighty for me.
They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
but the Lord was my support.
He brought me out into a broad place;
he rescued me, because he delighted in me.
Psalm 18:16-19