Ukrainian military intelligence (HUR) operatives carried out a successful special operation in the so-called “gray zone” on the territory of the former Kakhovka Reservoir, according to a statement by HUR on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
The operation was conducted by fighters of the Bratstvo (Brotherhood) unit, part of HUR’s “Timur” Special Group, who advanced deep into Russian-controlled territory.
In the area known as Velyki Kuchuhury, located about 7 km (4.3 miles) from what had been the reservoir’s shoreline, the special forces reportedly engaged and eliminated two Russian soldiers.
As part of the mission, the operatives raised the blue-and-yellow Ukrainian flag over the former islands and established control over the area, HUR reported, publishing video footage of the operation.
The intelligence agency posted accompanying video footage of strikes, which Kyiv Post was unable to independently verify.
On June 6, 2023, Russian forces blew up the dam that held back the Kakhovka Reservoir, one of the largest in Europe.
Built in the 1950s, the huge reservoir had a volume of 18 cubic kilometers (4.3 cubic miles) of water – almost the entire volume of water in the Dnipro River, the source of the artificial lake.
The reservoir provided electricity through the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant as well as supplying water for agricultural irrigation in the Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipropetrovsk regions, as well as in Crimea.
Kyiv Post previously visited the settlements that used to be on the shores of the man-made lake. The reservoir is now overgrown with grass and wild plants.
The Dnipro River, from just south of Zaporizhzhia to where it flows out into the Black Sea, has narrowed to its natural width while Russian forces still occupy the river’s left bank.