Ukraine’s military has reported that Russian forces have attacked a substantial dam in southern Ukraine. while, the Moscow-appointed official in the city of Nova Kakhovka, situated in the Russian-controlled segment of the Kherson region, has attributed the dam’s destruction to Ukrainian shelling.
Authorities in Kyiv have accused Moscow of destroying the dam in a state of panic, purportedly to hinder the advancement of the Ukrainian counteroffensive. They have asserted that the consequences of Russia’s actions are already catastrophic.
“The terrorists’ objective is evident – to create obstacles for the armed forces’ offensive maneuvers,” commented Mykhaylo Podolyak, an advisor to the Ukrainian presidential office, in a tweet.
“On a vast territory, all life will be destroyed; many settlements will be ruined; colossal damage will be done to the environment,” he added.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy remarked, “The obliteration of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only serves to confirm to the entire world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land.”
Both Ukrainian and Russian officials confirmed on Tuesday that the Kakhovka dam, situated in southern Ukraine, had been demolished, thereby posing a threat of flooding to downstream areas along the Dnipro River.
Ukraine’s state hydroelectric company has lamented that the power plant has been utterly razed following an explosion within the engine room.
This Soviet-era hydroelectric facility also provides water to the Crimean peninsula, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, as well as to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, currently under Russian control.