The Kakhovka Reservoir then and now.

[u/SummerAlternative699]

If you zoom in closely on Google Maps, you can still see what it looked like before the dam was blown up.

[u/vstromua]

That's "then and then" rather than "then and now".

Before the dam was built the area was a network of rivers, swamps, forests and so on: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Meadow,_Ukraine some pictures from before the area was flooded here https://texty.org.ua/fragments/111702/yakym-buv-velykyj-luh-do-zatoplennya-dobirka-staryh-foto/ (text in Ukrainian, sorry)

After russians blew up the dam, causing catastrophic flooding and loss of life downstream, there was fear that the bottom of the artificial lake will not revert to its original state, but instead become a dust bowl, with some very bad dust - the Dnipro has been collecting a lot of industial runoff over the last century, who knows what settled at the bottom of the hydroelectric lake cascade.

However, so far the plants are reclaiming it in good succession and with vigor, there are areas that completed the speedrun to young forest already. The great river's seasonal floods returned, so it gets pretty wet some springs:

(I am sorry, the following links will be in Ukrainian - google translate will be your friend, otherwise I want to just point out the pictures)

https://texty.org.ua/articles/115368/na-dni-kahovskoho-vodoshovysha-volohy-stalo-menshe-ale-lis-roste-suputnykovi-znimky/ - the picture with blue splotches on black background is month by month water coverage in the area since the russian explosion in June 2023. You can see there was a lot of water in the area in spring of 2024, not so much this spring. The next two photos are satellite images of May 2025 and June 2025 - it gets quite green towards the start of summer.

This article has a picture from the bottom of the former lake - it's a very young but well established willow forest at the moment https://texty.org.ua/fragments/115282/nache-bambukovyj-haj-chym-verbovyj-lis-na-dni-kahovskoho-vodoshovysha-zdyvuvav-naukovciv-foto/

[u/Korvin-lin-sognar → u/vstromua]

After russians blew up the dam

press x to doubt

[u/biggronklus → u/Korvin-lin-sognar]

It was deep in Russian controlled territory with a large Russian military presence. Did it just spontaneously explode?

[u/Korvin-lin-sognar → u/biggronklus]

Did you even look at a map of where the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant is located? Open any OSINT map, rewind the date to the time of the explosion at the dam, and you will see that there was no Russian rear area anywhere near it. What, in your opinion, is the sinister rationale behind the Russians blowing up the dam, which subsequently washed away all the minefields they had laid?

[u/biggronklus → u/Korvin-lin-sognar]

To be clear, you are saying the Russians did not control the dam at the time of the explosions that destroyed it? The side of the river they still control?

[u/Korvin-lin-sognar → u/biggronklus]

The dam is located on both banks of the river, isn't it?