Zelenskyy addressed the participants of the Bucharest Nine Summit

Ukraine’s President Zelenskyy reminded that Russia has been controlling both the dam and the entire Kakhovka HPP for more than a year. Therefore, it is physically unrealistic to blow it up from the outside by shelling. It was the Russian occupiers who mined it and blew it up. 

"Russia has detonated a bomb of massive environmental damage. This is the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades. It is the most dangerous terrorist in the world. And that is why Russia's defeat - a defeat that we will ensure anyway - will be the most significant contribution to the security of our region, our Europe and the whole world," Zelenskyy said. 

He emphasised that Europe should not allow any more weakness to the evil of aggression.

"No more uncertainty about security prospects in Europe! Each of our steps, each of our decisions, each of our summits should strengthen all of us in our defence against Russian terror. And undoubtedly, this should be ensured by the NATO Summit in Vilnius," Zelenskyy added

In addition, the President said that 80 settlements were under water as a result of the blowing up of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, and emphasised that huge areas of agricultural production were left without irrigation, and tens of thousands of people were left without drinking water.

"This explosion occurred at 2:50 am. An absolutely deliberate, prepared explosion. They knew exactly what they were doing. Imagine the volume of the reservoir that this dam held. This is one of the largest reservoirs in Ukraine. Since the night, the flooding of the southern regions of our country has been going on. At least 100,000 people lived in these areas before the Russian invasion, and at least tens of thousands are still there. 80 towns and villages are under water. And evacuations have already begun. And these are only the initial consequences. Unfortunately, the tragedy is much wider. The Kakhovka reservoir was a source of drinking water for millions of people. And now, instead of a water supply system, there is only a water truck. Imagine, for cities with tens and hundreds of thousands of people. The Kakhovka Reservoir was a source of water for farming, for agricultural production. Huge areas are now without irrigation. And now it is even difficult to determine what the consequences for the environment will be," Zelenskyy said.

• On June 6, Russian occupation forces blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.

• Ukraine convened an urgent meeting of the UN Security Council on the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant