The intelligence update published on 16 November by the British Defense Ministry addressed the issue of the damage to the Kakhovka Dam holding the 18 km³ 240 km long and up to 23 km wide Kakhovka Reservoir. Recently, the Russian forces retreating from the western-bank Kherson Oblast blew up the dam bridges and damaged the sluice gates. The full destruction of the dam could flood more than 80 settlements including the regional capital of Kherson, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
The British Defense Ministry says that the current level of damage to the Kakhovka Dam is unlikely to cause flooding.
- The Kakhovka Dam on the Dnipro River is the site of major hydroelectric power plant as well as providing one of the two main road crossing points of the lower reaches of the Dnipro River. Ukrainian precision strikes have targeted the site since August, successfully disrupting Russian military resupply.
- On 11 November 2022 the site suffered further significant damage, almost certainly because of controlled demolitions by retreating Russian forces. This was likely done in an attempt to hinder future Ukrainian advances.
- Three spans of both the road and rail bridges on the northern end of the dam were destroyed, rendering the crossings impassable. However, the three spillway gates below this section of the dam remained largely intact. The current level of damage is unlikely to result in major flooding downstream.
