President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted a trilateral meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu and newly elected Romanian President Nicusor Dan, the first such meeting since Dan's inauguration last month, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced on June 11.The talks focused on strengthening coordination between the countries amid rising threats from Russia's ongoing war and hybrid operations across the Black Sea region, according to a statement.The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Ukraine-
President Volodymyr Zelensky hosted a trilateral meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu and newly elected Romanian President Nicusor Dan, the first such meeting since Dan's inauguration last month, Ukraine's Presidential Office announced on June 11.
The talks focused on strengthening coordination between the countries amid rising threats from Russia's ongoing war and hybrid operations across the Black Sea region, according to a statement.
The meeting took place on the sidelines of the Ukraine-Southeastern Europe summit held in the Black Sea port city of Odesa.
Ukraine proposed the appointment of foreign ministry-level coordinators to maintain permanent contact among the three countries.
The leaders discussed regional and cybersecurity, defense cooperation, European integration, sanctions against Russia, and support for Moldova, whose stability was described as vital for the broader region.
They also addressed joint infrastructure projects, including the construction of a cross-border highway and improvements to rail connections between Ukraine, Moldova, and Romania.
Special attention was given to defending against Russian hybrid threats and cyberattacks, which Ukraine says have intensified across Black Sea states.
Romania's new president, Nicusor Dan, took office on May 26 after winning the May 18 presidential election against a far-right, anti-Ukraine opponent, George Simion. His victory is widely seen as a boost for Ukraine-Romania relations and for continued support of Kyiv's pro-European path.
Zelensky emphasized that Ukraine and Moldova must remain united on their path toward EU membership, warning against any attempts to divide the countries during negotiations.
Both countries were granted EU membership candidate status in 2022 and launched the accession talks two years later.
The Ukrainian military says its new weapon system, which launches antiaircraft missiles from a remote-controlled speedboat, has brought down two Russian jet fighters.
The Ukrainian military says its new weapon system, which launches antiaircraft missiles from a remote-controlled speedboat, has brought down two Russian jet fighters.
The water began rising quietly, like a whisper. On the morning of 6 June 2023, residents of Oleshky in Kherson Oblast watched small streams seep through their streets. This happened after Russian troops pulled the trigger and blew up the Kakhovka Plant’s dam to prevent a Ukrainian military advance across the Dnipro. What they unleashed that day terrified scientists.
The Kakhovka Plant, destroyed by Russian forces, was critical for water supply, energy system stability, and cooling the Zaporizhz
The water began rising quietly, like a whisper. On the morning of 6 June 2023, residents of Oleshky in Kherson Oblast watched small streams seep through their streets. This happened after Russian troops pulled the trigger and blew up the Kakhovka Plant’s dam to prevent a Ukrainian military advance across the Dnipro. What they unleashed that day terrified scientists.
The Kakhovka Plant, destroyed by Russian forces, was critical for water supply, energy system stability, and cooling the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the station in Europe, occupied since 2022.
By evening, a 4-meter wall of water had swept away everything in its path. But as the floodwaters receded weeks later, they left behind something far more sinister than destroyed homes and drowned livestock reaching the Black Sea.
Top Lead’s infographics
“We know that garbage and heavy metals from the bottom of the Kakhovka reservoir didn’t go anywhere—they settled on the sea floor, and during storms they rise again to the upper layers of seawater,” warns Yulia Markhel, leader of the ecological movement Let’s do it Ukraine.
What the water carried from the reservoir’s depths would prove to be one of the most severe environmental disasters of the 21st century, a toxic legacy that had been accumulating in silence for over 60 years, the Ukrainian National Ecology Center reports.
The sleeping giant awakens
When Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Dam exactly two years ago, they unleashed 18 cubic kilometers of water in just four days. But the water was merely the messenger. What it carried would transform the Black Sea ecosystem for generations.
A dog hugs the leg of volunteer Ruslan Horbal from Kharkiv, who rescued him from drowning in Kherson on 7 June 2023. Photo: Danylo Pavlov / Reporters
Local resident Liudmyla Boretska watched the catastrophe unfold from her rooftop refuge.
“Everything was flooded—cemeteries, garbage dumps, cattle burial grounds. Everywhere there were mosquitoes, the smell of death, horrible screams of people and animals, she told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
But beneath the visible horror, something hidden and far more dangerous was stirring.
The destruction exposed lake bed sediment containing more than 90,000 tons of dangerous heavy metals, a toxic cocktail that had been quietly accumulating on the reservoir floor since 1956.
Top Lead’s infographics
For decades, industrial waste from mines and factories across the Dnipro basin had settled into the sediment like layers in an archaeological dig.
Each year brought new deposits: manganese, arsenic, lead, cadmium—the metallic signatures of Soviet-era industry.
The contamination spreads
Within days, the contaminated flood surge reached the Black Sea, impacting more than 50% of the northwestern Black Sea area. Satellite imagery revealed a massive brown plume spreading across azure waters, carrying decades of accumulated poison.
Credit: The Ukrainian ecology protection group
Near Odesa, concentrations of copper (17.9 μg/l) and zinc (44.8 μg/l) significantly exceeded acceptable levels, along with high concentrations of petroleum products. The numbers told a stark story: normal copper levels in seawater rarely exceed 0.5 μg/l.
Viktor Komorin, who studied fish, mussels, and dead dolphins for toxic substances after the disaster, discovered the true scale of contamination.
“In mussels we found toxic substances exceeding the norm by thousands of times,” he reported.
The filter-feeding mollusks had become living repositories of decades of industrial waste.
What lurks beneath
The damage is difficult to assess. According to OSINT researchers from InformNapalm, the scale of this act of terrorism is comparable to the effects of using a tactical nuclear weapon with a yield of 5–10 kilotons.
A couple of days later, all this pollution began reaching the shores of Romania and Bulgaria. Freshwater from the Kakhovka Reservoir entered the Black Sea about 3–4 days after the dam burst and reached the coast of Odesa, reducing the normal salinity of the seawater from the usual 17–18‰ to just 4‰.
Female engineering support workers of the Kakhovka hydro hub at the main structure of the hydroelectric power plant. Photo from the archive. Credit: grivna.ua
The contaminated sediments stretched across 620 square kilometers of exposed lake bed—an area larger than many European cities. In this toxic wasteland, previously absorbed heavy metals were absorbed by vegetation and animals and moved through the local food web.
Historical echoes from depths
As the waters receded, they revealed more than industrial poison. Kherson historian Oleksii Patalakh describes what emerged.
He says the area where the reservoir once stood was a true natural treasure—the green lungs of southern Ukraine. It was a system of rivers, lakes, and islands with incredibly diverse flora and fauna and vast fish stocks, including sturgeon, Suspilne reports. He explains that sturgeon disappeared from the Dnipro after the Kakhovka Reservoir was created.
“In addition, this territory is an archaeological landmark. It includes about five of the eight Zaporizhzhian Sich strongholds. There are fortresses from the time of the Late Scythians, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Ulus of Jochi, more commonly known as the Golden Horde,” he continues.
There were many ports and fortresses on the islands, such as on Tavani Island, between Beryslav and Kakhovka. There were two satellite fortresses: Mustrit-Kermen, which was connected to Gazi-Kermen, and Mubarek-Kermen, which was connected to Islam-Kermen, present-day Kakhovka.
He adds that shortly after the water receded in 2023, specialists in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast discovered the remains of a submerged Sich-era church, reconstructed in the early 19th century — the site of Nova Sich.
Patalakh emphasizes that the territory from Khortytsia and downriver lies Zaporizhzhia, the historic land of the Cossacks, Ukrainian national warriors-heroes. According to him, these are ancient Cossack territories, home to many winter settlements and numerous submerged Cossack cemeteries. On the one hand, the water could destroy all this. On the other hand, researchers now have the opportunity to study these objects of historical heritage.
The reckoning ahead
The scale of environmental destruction has prompted calls for new international legal frameworks. This disaster may become the first test case for prosecuting environmental war crimes under international law.
The powerful cranes of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant controlled the sluice gates for water discharge. Photo from the archive. Credit: grivna.ua
Truth Hounds and Project Expedite Justice researchers concluded that the case “may become the first application of the ICC’s Article 8(2)(b)(iv) of the Rome Statute, which concerns causing ‘excessive’ environmental damage compared to expected military advantage”.
Moreover, there is evidence that Russian troops prevented people from evacuation from the flooded areas, despite the deadly threat they unleashed to reach their ghost objective.
Russia’s destruction of the Kherson dam temporarily improved its defensive posture in Kherson Oblast and delayed Ukrainian operations in the south, but it did not result in any enduring military superiority. Some of its troops also died in the operation. Ukrainian forces are still holding nearly 20% of the territory in Kherson Oblast, including its central city of Kherson.
Much of the damage caused by the breach of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam is irreversible, with likely changes to the environment that could have impacts on ecosystems and human health. The total damage is estimated at nearly $14 billion.
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Russia aims to occupy all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro River and advance toward Odesa and Mykolaiv in a broader plan to sever Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, President Volodymyr Zelensky's Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa said, Politico reported on June 6.The remarks come amid continuing Russian offensives in eastern and northern Ukraine, along with escalating diplomatic efforts that have yet to yield a ceasefire.According to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), Moscow ho
Russia aims to occupy all Ukrainian territory east of the Dnipro River and advance toward Odesa and Mykolaiv in a broader plan to sever Ukraine's access to the Black Sea, President Volodymyr Zelensky's Deputy Chief of Staff Pavlo Palisa said, Politico reported on June 6.
The remarks come amid continuing Russian offensives in eastern and northern Ukraine, along with escalating diplomatic efforts that have yet to yield a ceasefire.
According to Ukraine's military intelligence agency (HUR), Moscow hopes to seize the entirety of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts by this fall and establish a buffer zone along Ukraine's northern border with Russia.
The second phase of the plan envisions more ambitious territorial gains, including an advance into southern Ukraine aimed at cutting the country off from the sea.
"Unfortunately, they are not speaking about peace. They are preparing for war," Palisa said during a press briefing at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington.
The warning comes days after Russia presented Ukraine with a so-called "peace memorandum" during a second round of negotiations in Istanbul on June 2.
The document, published by Russian state media outlet TASS, demands that Kyiv recognize Russia's claimed annexation of four Ukrainian oblasts — Kherson, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Luhansk — and fully withdraw from them.
Moscow also calls for Ukraine's demobilization and a formal ban on NATO membership.
During the talks, Ukraine's delegation submitted a separate proposal calling for an all-for-all prisoner exchange, the return of abducted Ukrainian children, and the release of civilians held in Russian captivity.
Kyiv also reiterated its call for a Western-backed 30-day ceasefire as a foundation for future negotiations — a proposal Moscow again rejected.
Ukraine's military leadership has warned that Russian forces are preparing for a major summer offensive in Donetsk Oblast, where daily assaults have continued since 2022.
Despite suffering heavy losses, Russian troops are advancing through mass wave attacks that gain only tens of meters per day. According to the U.S.-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Moscow currently occupies roughly 20% of Ukraine.
A handout satellite picture, courtesy of Maxar Technologies and taken on May 27, before Ukraine’s attacks, shows Tu-95 aircraft with objects on their wings and a decoy painted on the tarmac at an air base near Seryshevo, Russia. Ukraine’s weekend assault appeared aimed at stoking fear about the other potential targets in Russia.
The European Union is creating a new Black Sea Maritime Security Hub to enhance surveillance of Russian activities, including monitoring potential ceasefire violations in Ukraine and tracking sanction-busting oil tankers, The Telegraph reports.
The hub is part of the EU’s effort to boost real-time awareness and protect vital infrastructure in the region.
Real-time monitoring from space to seabed
The command center will deliver live intelligence across the Black Sea, covering:
Move
The European Union is creating a new Black Sea Maritime Security Hub to enhance surveillance of Russian activities, including monitoring potential ceasefire violations in Ukraine and tracking sanction-busting oil tankers, The Telegraph reports.
The hub is part of the EU’s effort to boost real-time awareness and protect vital infrastructure in the region.
Real-time monitoring from space to seabed
The command center will deliver live intelligence across the Black Sea, covering:
Movements of Russian military and commercial vessels
Activity by Russia’s so-called shadow fleet of tankers
Early alerts on sabotage risks to undersea infrastructure, including energy cables and offshore rigs
The system aims to give EU countries full-spectrum visibility, “from space to seabed,” according to officials.
“The exact size, shape and location of the monitoring station is still up for negotiation,”said EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas.
The EU’s Black Sea hub will monitor foreign vessels near critical infrastructure amid sabotage threats from Russia. Photo: The Telegraph
Core of the EU’s new Black Sea Strategy
The surveillance hub is central to the EU’s first comprehensive Black Sea Strategy, which focuses on:
Reducing Russian influence
Securing maritime trade routes
Strengthening logistics and defense readiness
The plan includes infrastructure upgrades and deeper cooperation with neighboring states.
“Getting equipment to the region faster strengthens deterrence and also supports NATO,” Kallas noted.
Ukraine’s naval advances shift the balance
The EU’s move follows Ukraine’s successful use of maritime drones and Western weapons like Storm Shadow and Atacms, which forced much of Russia’s fleet back to home ports.
With Ukraine now maintaining a protected grain corridor along the Romanian and Bulgarian coasts, trade route security remains a top priority.
Ukraine’s sea drones and missiles have forced Russia’s Black Sea fleet to retreat. Credit: Alexander Demianchuk/TASS
Regional cooperation — with limits
Out of the six Black Sea-bordering countries, Bulgaria and Romania are EU members. Ukraine is an applicant nation and key military partner. The strategy also seeks to connect the EU with the southern Caucasus and Central Asia through new energy and digital corridors.
However, Türkiye presents diplomatic challenges. Though a NATO member and EU candidate, it continues commercial ties with Russia and controls the Bosphorus Strait.
“This is also an invitation for closer cooperation with all countries around the Black Sea, including Türkiye,” Kallas said.
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The European Union unveiled a new security strategy for the Black Sea region on May 28, aiming to counter growing Russian threats, improve regional defense infrastructure, and deepen cooperation with key partners from Ukraine to Turkey, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said. Speaking at a press briefing in Brussels, Kallas outlined the bloc's "Strategic Approach to the Black Sea Region," calling it essential for European security, trade, and energy resilience."The Black Sea region is of great
The European Union unveiled a new security strategy for the Black Sea region on May 28, aiming to counter growing Russian threats, improve regional defense infrastructure, and deepen cooperation with key partners from Ukraine to Turkey, EU High Representative Kaja Kallas said.
Speaking at a press briefing in Brussels, Kallas outlined the bloc's "Strategic Approach to the Black Sea Region," calling it essential for European security, trade, and energy resilience.
"The Black Sea region is of great strategic importance to the European Union," Kallas said. "But the region's potential is marred by Russia's war. Reoccurring airspace violations, and attacks on ports and shipping lanes highlight this reality."
Kallas proposed creating a Black Sea Maritime Security Hub, envisioned as an early warning and monitoring system that would enhance situational awareness and protect key infrastructure such as offshore energy platforms and subsea cables.
Kallas said the hub could also support future peace monitoring efforts in the event of a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. While the EU has not disclosed where the hub would be located or which countries would take part, a document seen by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty describes its focus on real-time monitoring from space to seabed, mine clearance, and the protection of commercial sea routes.
The strategy also calls for major upgrades to regional transport networks, including ports, roads, railways, and airports, to allow faster movement of heavy military equipment.
"These updates will help to ensure troops can be where they are needed, when they are needed," Kallas said, adding that the changes will also reinforce NATO deterrence. The EU plans to tighten screening of foreign ownership in strategic facilities, particularly in the region's ports.
The third major priority of the plan targets hybrid threats, including cyberattacks and disinformation. "The Black Sea region is a prime target for hybrid actions," Kallas said. She announced that the EU would invest in artificial intelligence to counter disinformation, promote media literacy, and support fact-checking networks.
The strategy was presented amid growing concern over Russia's destabilizing activities in the Black Sea and a broader effort to strengthen EU partnerships with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Moldova, Turkey, and Ukraine.
The plan notes that Turkey is a "vital partner and candidate country" and highlights its potential role in countering Russia's shadow fleet and ensuring maritime security.
According to RFE/RL sources, Turkey suggested it would assure safe passage in the Black Sea and potentially clear up mines in case of a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia.
Turkey has emerged as a potential mediator in Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, balancing relations with both sides through ongoing diplomatic and economic engagement. So far, Ankara has supported peace talks, helped enable grain shipments, and signaled readiness to assist in monitoring any future ceasefire.
The EU will reportedly convene a ministerial meeting with Black Sea partner countries to coordinate the next steps. The strategy does not include new funding commitments or legislative proposals.
Connexion
The Kyiv IndependentPaula Erizanu
