In the occupied Nova Kakhovka, the local zoo Kazkova Dibrova was flooded as a result of the blowing up of the Kakhovka HPP. This information was reported by social activist Andriy Smoliy in his Telegram channel and shared by local residents on social media on June 6th.
"Presumably, some of the animals have died", - Smoliy reported. "The occupational administration did not allow the evacuation of the animals. We tried ourselves, but it was not possible. They mined everything around and showed the employees where they could go. The animals remained trapped. Small animals were taken home to survive the winter and were returned to the zoo in the summer. We tried not to announce that the animals were still there, so they wouldn't be eaten or stolen. The Kadyrovites wanted to eat the rams during Ramadan. The zoo employees fought for the animals until the end", - local social media posts state.
"We were trying so hard to keep the animals safe. How much effort was put in, how many people helped to save the animals in such terrible conditions, practically risking their own lives. And now Dibrova is gone! 300 innocent animals, our beloved pets, are dead. Anfisochka, Charlik, Malysh the pony, Osia the donkey, Misha the raccoon and all others… Let those russian bastards choke on their own blood, just as my animals drowned. I curse russia and wish them all a painful death!" - people write on social media.
The zoo in Nova Kakhovka was founded by entrepreneur Mykhailo Navrotskyi in 1992. Since the full-scale invasion of russian troops, the zoo has been under occupation.
As previously reported, the State Border Guard Service has published a video showing that the Kakhovka HPP and the forest on the right bank of the Dnipro River are underwater as a result of the dam's destruction.