Is the photo of the six floating dogs in any way related to the flooding caused by the Nova Kakhovka dam breach in the Kherson area, Ukraine? No, that's not true: Although many animals were affected by the dam collapse and resultant flooding, this picture is in fact from flooding in Thailand in 2022.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on the TikTok account @cats_dogs_chernivtsi on June 06, 2023. The caption in Ukrainian says (as translated by Lead Stories staff):
Residents of the Kherson region,
save your pets from flooding,
- urge the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: TikTok screenshot taken on Fri Jun 9 11:20:05 2023 UTC)
The destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power plant (HPP) took place on the night of June 6, 2023. The Kakhovka HPP is in the city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region which is currently under Russian occupation. Both humans and animals have been severely impacted by the disaster. Images of the tragedy spread online, including this photo of floating dogs, which has been incorrectly attributed. On the TikTok platform, the picture can be seen both separately and as part of a collage with other photos, here or here.
A reverse image search revealed that the photo, credited to the Soi Dog Foundation, appeared in local Thai news in October 2022, with the caption "Dogs swim for food in Ubon Ratchathani." On September 28, 2022, heavy rains brought by Tropical Storm Noru caused flooding in several provinces of Thailand.
