After the dam was destroyed: the water level at Kherson is back to normal.

Three weeks after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, the water level in the disputed Kherson region has partly returned to normal.

Near the regional capital of the same name, Kherson, the level of the Dnipro was 33 centimeters on Monday morning, the Ukrainian crisis team reports on Telegram. This is consistent with measurements there before the dam was destroyed.

At the same time, according to Ukrainian rescuers, the Kakhovka reservoir has dried up. The Dnipro – the third longest river in Europe – is therefore only a stream downstream from the destroyed dam in some places. The Ukrainian water board Ukrhydroenerho announced that it would quickly build temporary dams there after the complete liberation. As a result, various regions of the country will be supplied with water.

The dam in the town of Nowa Kachowka, which was occupied by Russian troops and was directly on the front line, was destroyed on June 6. Huge bodies of water then poured out of the adjacent reservoir. Many places are flooded. Ukraine, which has been defending itself against a Russian offensive war for 16 months, accuses Russia of blowing up the structure. Moscow denies that.

Meanwhile, clearing operations continued on the Ukrainian-controlled northern side of the Dnipro: explosives experts have so far demined an area totaling more than six square kilometers, the Kherson military government said on Sunday. According to the authorities, gas pipes are also being checked in the affected areas, water pipes are being disinfected and water is being pumped out of buildings.

(sda/dpa)