"Of course, after achieving the goals of the special military operation, or even earlier, when we drive the enemy to a safe distance, we will begin to restore the Kakhovka HPP. There is no other way - the ecology and economy of the left bank of the Kherson region and northern Crimea are strongly tied to it. This is a fundamental issue. However, it is clear that specific plans and projects will be drawn up later," Saldo said.
On Sunday, the head of the Kherson regional government, Andrey Alekseyenko, said that the death toll from the flooding of Kherson Region after the Kakhovka HPP damage had gone up to 35.
The upper part of the Kakhovka power plant on the Dnepro River was damaged overnight from June 5 to June 6. It was not destroyed completely, but its crumbling caused an uncontrollable outflow of water to towns on the Russian-controlled eastern bank of the river and the Ukrainian-held western bank. Moscow and Kiev have blamed each other for the dam's destruction. Authorities in some of the affected areas have evacuated the population.