Analysis
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Feeding Half a Billion: Polish EU Presidency Must Prioritise Common Agricultural Policy Reform
8 January 2025
Thousands of tonnes of debris and toxic waste released by Russia’s destruction of the Kakhovka dam on the Dniepr River have reached the shores of the Black Sea, causing unmeasurable damage to the natural environment not just in the Odesa region but further west.
The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station’s dam on 6 June released a devastating flood onto the biodiverse habitats and farmlands of the lower Dniepr basin, with tonnes of debris and pollutants spreading the destruction to the shore waters of the Black Sea at the river’s mouth.
According to Kherson authorities, a total of 48 settlements have been flooded in the Kherson region, including 34 on the territory controlled by Ukraine and 14 on Ukrainian land occupied by Russian forces. Ten people perished, and 20 have been injured, including five police officers and two rescuers. Thirty-five people are missing, including seven children.