In June 2023, there was an explosion at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Several pieces of evidence showed that the Russian military, who were in control of the hydroelectric power plant at the time, had blown it up from the inside. The occupied east bank of Kherson Oblast suffered more than the west bank due to its geography, being lower down the river. Dozens of settlements and summer cottages, where thousands of people lived, were submerged in water. Representatives of the Russian occupying forces did not recognize the scale of the disaster and said that there was no need to evacuate civilians.