Pokrov, Dnipropetrovsk Province, June 16, 2023
Photo: nikopolnews.net
The remains of an 18th-century church have been found at the bottom of the Kakhovka Reservoir in the village of Pokrov, near Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Province, Ukraine.
The find was made after the Kakhovka dam collapsed and the reservoir drained.
According to Nikopol News, the Holy Protection Church was built as a Cossack church in 1798, replacing the previous wooden church. The stone church existed until 1954, when it was flooded with the waters of the Kahkovka Reservoir.
Before flooding the church, the Soviet authorities removed most of the sacred treasures from it, though the local faithful were able to save some items.
A cemetery was also found near the church. Old graves were open and human remains are visible, Nikopol News reports.
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The destruction of the Kakhovka dam will also go down in history as one of the most tragic causes of civilian deaths in the curent conflict—equal to genocide. On the night of June 5–6, with no warning, the dam was destroyed, and the waters of the reservoir came rushing into towns and villages on the east bank of the Dnieper. The flooded east bank, which is under Russian control, is lower than the west bank under Ukrainian control, and therefore it recieved the full force of the flooding. Because of constant artillery fire from the Ukrainian side, civilians were sleeping in their basements when the inundation occurred. Even more were killed as they were being evacuated by the Russian army, because the Ukrainian army made use of the opportunity to fire on Russian soldiers, and so evacuating civilians were indiscriminately shelled.
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