Powerful images show Kakhovka power plant disaster through the eyes of Ukrainian artists

Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) in the early hours on 6 June, flooding cities and villages in Kherson Oblast. Ukrainian artists are creating powerful art in response to the Russian terrorist attack and its effects on people, the environment, and cultural heritage.

Artworks show the flood, which has so far affected 20 settlements in Kherson Oblast, threatens Mykolaiv Oblast, and might interrupt water supply to several Dnipropetrovsk Oblast cities as artists try to grapple with the tragedy of what is happening and the aftermath of the Kakhovka HPP disaster. Their images are getting wide resonance on social media as users share them in their stories and posts about the Russian attack on the power plant.

Ukrainska Pravda has gathered a selection of the most powerful images depicting the tragedy unfolding in Kherson Oblast as a result of the power plant explosion.

Valentyna Romanova’s drawing is among the most widely shared ones in Ukraine. Romanova described the image simply: "I’m hurting."

Mykhailo Skop created two images he dedicated to the tragedy in Kherson Oblast.

Maksym Pavlenko depicted animals from the Kazkova Dibrova zoo, the majority of which were killed in the aftermath of the explosion at the Kakhovka HPP.

"Russia is a terrorist state," children’s books illustrator Hrasia Oliiko wrote when posting the image she created.

Yuliia Polishchuk, an illustrator, depicted the destroyed Kakhovka power plant.

Meanwhile, Yevhen Moroz’s image makes it obvious that Russia is to blame for the explosion at the Kakhovka HPP.

Oleksandr Shatokhin, another Ukrainian illustrator, wrote that "Russians have once again reared their ugly terrorist heads, blowing up the HPP."

An artist who goes by the nickname paslayka wrote that "As we scroll through our newsfeeds, let’s take a moment to think about the fates of those who have been forced to start everything a new."

Anastasiia Khomutova said she is pouring her feelings onto the paper and feeling unable to express her fury.

Sashko Danylenko, a painter, reminds us that Russia is a terrorist state in his powerful, dark image.

Yurii Zhuravel, an artist and musician, conveyed the explosion at the Kakhovka dam metaphorically.

Nato Mikeladze wrote: "r*ssia is a terrorist state destroying everything in its path."

Yuliia Tveritina, an artist chronicling the war on her social media, wrote the following under her illustration of the Nova Kakhovka tragedy: "Kherson, 6 June 2023. The dam was blown up. My friend Ruslan is evacuating his grandma, Mariia Vasylivna, from her flooded home in Nova Kakhovka, where I spent two wonderful summers – in my past life."

Zhanna Mudrak, a designer and illustrator, issued a reminder to dog owners: if you cannot take them with you, at least let them run free.

"I know from personal experience what it’s like to evacuate under shelling, with a pet in your arms…" wrote Liudmyla Kornieieva, a children’s illustrator, urging people to take care of their pets.

Oleksii Kustovskyi issued a reminder that the Russian army has to be held accountable for the ecocide they committed in Ukraine.

The Ministry of Culture and Information Policy (MCIP) released a list of museums and cultural heritage sites in Kherson Oblast that have already been flooded or are under threat of flooding due to the Russians blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Previously, the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine published a map of attractions and natural recreational resources threatened by the Russians' actions.

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