‘Everything will die’: Dam explosion endangers Ukraine’s vital lifeline.

The view from villagers’ gardens on the northern shore of the Kakhovka Reservoir has changed significantly in the four days since an explosion destroyed the nearby dam and the water receded.

Mudflats stretch for hundreds of meters and a long sand bar has emerged from the water and extends across the bay. Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, just four miles across the water on the southern coast, where it is under Russian military control, seems closer. The water has already dropped below the critical level to restore water to the factory, Ukrainian officials said.

In communities downstream, the water released by the burst dam flooded homes within hours of the explosion, sweeping away property and livestock. For those living upstream, the disaster has unfolded in slow motion, with the reservoir sinking three to four feet a day.

“Everything dies,” said Tetyana, 64, as she walked through her vegetable and fruit garden, with young tomato plants on her left and redcurrant and blackcurrant bushes on her right.

The taps in her village, Prydniprovske, had run dry in the morning, said Tetyana, who, like other local residents, kept their surnames secret for security reasons. She had managed to do a wash just in time. And the pipe she used to water the vegetables had also dried up.

Built 75 years ago, the Kakhovka Reservoir is the largest freshwater lake in Ukraine and is the life and livelihood of communities across a vast region. The water feeds everything from small homes to major industries, with gardens, vineyards, shipping companies and steel mills all relying on the reservoir.

Now they are all threatened. The towns and villages that have sprung up around the reservoir are facing hardship, even extinction, endangering a critical pillar of the Ukrainian economy.