Belgorod Reservoir Dam Loses 30-Meter Spillway in Suspected Ukrainian Strike
Updated
Updated · Meduza · Jul 21
Belgorod Reservoir Dam Loses 30-Meter Spillway in Suspected Ukrainian Strike
3 articles · Updated · Meduza · Jul 21
Summary
Satellite imagery from July 19 showed a roughly 30-meter section of the Belgorod Reservoir dam’s spillway destroyed, with water pouring through unchecked and the road atop the dam also damaged.
Pepel, a Belgorod-based outlet citing anonymous sources, said the damage was likely caused by a Ukrainian strike and assessed it as more serious than the previous hit on the dam in fall 2025.
Floodwater moving downstream has already raised the Nezhegol River, and beaches in Shebekino, the town it runs through, were reported flooded.
The strike revives fears around dam attacks in the war after the 2023 collapse of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam flooded dozens of settlements in Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.