Ukraine to seek £2bn compensation over dam destruction by Russia

Ukraine will request international investment arbitration to seek compensation for Russia's destruction of the power plant on the Dnieper River in Nova Kakhovka in June 2023, announced the state hydropower operator, Ukrhidroenerho.

Procedures in this matter have already been initiated, and the authorities in Moscow have been notified. "We will file for compensation for lost profits and the costs of rebuilding the power plant," stated the company's president, Ihor Syrota, on Thursday at 1:00 PM Greenwich Time.

"We will demand compensation from the aggressor. Preliminary estimates suggest around $2.5 billion. This is a lengthy legal procedure, and if the Russian Federation does not compensate us for the losses within six months, we will file a lawsuit," said Syrota in an interview published on the company's portal.

According to the Ukrainian side, international arbitration is the best way to recover losses from Russian forces' destruction of the power plant. Ukrhidroenerho stated in a communication that it relies on Ukrainian companies' successful experiences in resolving investment disputes with Russia after its annexation of Ukrainian Crimea.

The Ukrainian authorities reported on June 6, 2023, that Russian forces blew up the dam on the Dnieper River in Nova Kakhovka, creating the Kakhovka Reservoir, which extends around 240 kilometres. The hydroelectric plant located on the dam was destroyed.

The water flooded several dozen localities, including areas in the Kherson region occupied by Russians, causing a humanitarian and ecological catastrophe. The artificial Kakhovka Reservoir, crucial for regulating and supplying water to the region, almost completely dried up.