Draining of Ukraine's Kakhovka reservoir offers a reminder of past and present wars

A deminer stands in a boat next to the wreckage of an S-300 rocket, which fell a few months ago in the Dnipro river and became visible after water level sharply dropped following the Kakhovka dam destruction, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine, June 12, 2023. REUTERS/Alina Smutko

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (Reuters) - The draining of one of Europe's largest reservoirs as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovka dam has revealed submerged military objects that offer a reminder of wars past and present on Ukrainian soil.

On a drizzly morning near the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, a team of divers and underwater demining experts from Ukraine's State Emergency service grappled on Monday with the steering element of a S-300 missile. It had fallen in the water since Russia's full-scale invasion and was caked in algae and soil.