Russian forces blew up the Nova Kakhovka dam in the Moscow-controlled part of the Kherson region, Kiev’s army reported, the Guardian and Ukrinform reported. “The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was blown up by the Russian occupation forces. The extent of the destruction, the speed and volume of the water, the probable areas of flooding are currently being verified. All services work. The situation is being monitored,” Operations Command Southern said.
Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson region hit in Ukraine
The news was also confirmed by the Russian Emergencies Ministry which however accused Kiev stating that the Nova Kakhovka dam was “partially destroyed” due to Ukrainian bombing, and underlining that there is no danger for the population of the region. The allegations against Ukraine were also reiterated by the Kremlin: spokesman Dmitry Peskov spoke of “sabotage” which “could have very negative consequences for tens of thousands of residents of the region, environmental and other consequences that have yet to be ascertained” . Peskov stressed that the action outside of Kiev would also have been carried out because the “large-scale offensive” launched two days ago by his forces failed, with the operations having reached a “stall” situation.
The dam is also a strategic facility for supplying water to the Crimea, annexed by Russia. However, the head of the pro-Russian local administration, Vladimir Leontiev, quoted by the RIA Novosti agency, said that water supplies to the peninsula should not be cut off.
Some mechanisms of the dam were damaged “by a Ukrainian bombing” and there was a 2.5-metre rise in the water level in the reservoir, but the dam itself “has not been destroyed” and “there will not be a catastrophe”, added Leontyev who nevertheless added that the evacuation of about 300 houses downstream, in the towns of Korsunki and Dnepryan, could be necessary. According to a correspondent of the Russian agency RIA Novosti on the spot, land Ukrainian forces continue to shell the dam area with artillery.
The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station was completely destroyed “as a result of the explosion of the engine room from the inside” and is not repairable, reports the Ukrainian state broadcaster Suspilne, which quotes the state company Ukrhydroenergo. The operator operates a number of hydroelectric power plants along the Dnipro and Dniester rivers.
The damage caused to the Kakhovka dam “could have negative consequences for (Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant), but the situation is under control”, says the Ukrainian nuclear operator Energoatom. The Guardian reports it
However, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), there is “no immediate nuclear danger” at the Zaporizhzhia plant. “The IAEA experts” present on the site “are monitoring the situation closely”, added the UN body in a tweet, while the plant uses river water to cool the fuel in the reactor cores.
The Ukrainian government, which he called for an urgent meeting of the UN security council, speaks of a “disaster” and of thousands of people in danger, so much so that the evacuation of those in the area most at risk has begun. “Currently, we know that approx 16,000 people are in a critical area on the right bank of the Dnipro“, said the head of the Kherson police department, Alexander Prokudin. “At 7:30 (6:30 in Italy), the following settlements were completely or partially flooded: Tyaginka, Lvovoe, Otradokamenka (Berislavsky district) , Ivanovka, Nikolskoye, Tokarevka, Ponyatovka, Belozerka, the Ostrov microdistrict (Kherson district),” he added.
Twenty-four villages have been flooded after the attack on the dam, the Ukrainian government announced.
It is probable, he underlined, that other settlements will be affected. “We are ready for this. Currently, the evacuation of the residents of these settlements has been organized. By buses to the city of Kherson, then to Nikolaev and from there to Khmelnitsky, Odessa, Kropyvnytskyi, Kiev and other cities,” he explained, stating that at 12:00 (local time) a train for evacuees will leave from Kherson railway station bound for Nikolaev.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, says “Russia destroyed the Kakhovka dam inflicting probably Europe’s biggest technological disaster in decades and putting thousands of civilians at risk. This is a heinous war crime. L The only way to stop Russia, the greatest terrorist of the 21st century, is to drive it out of Ukraine.”
The spokeswoman of the Southern Military Command of Ukraine, Natalia Humeniuk, accused Russia of blowing up the dam to prevent Ukrainian forces from crossing the Dnipro River. “This is a hysterical reaction,” Humeniuk said. “They were aware that the movement of the defense forces would take place, and in this way they tried to influence the defense forces so that the crossing of the Dnipro River, which they feared, would not happen.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urgently convened the National Security Council. “We do everything to save people. All services are involved, military, government, offices,” he wrote on Telegram at the end of the meeting. “Tonight at 02:50 (1:50 in Italy), Russian terrorists carried out an internal detonation of the structures of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. About 80 settlements are located in the flooded area – the Ukrainian leader stressed -. It has been ordered to carry out the evacuation from the areas at risk and to supply drinking water to all cities and villages that received water from the Kakhovsky reservoir”. At the NSDC meeting, “a series of international and security measures were agreed to hold Russia responsible for this terrorist attack”, the message concludes.
The EU: ready to provide immediate aid after the attack on the dam
“We remain in contact with the Ukrainian authorities to ensure immediate EU assistance. The European Commission’s Emergency Response Coordination Center (ERCC) is actively monitoring the situation and is in close contact with the Ukrainian State Emergency Service Ukraine can request assistance under the EU Civil Protection Mechanism (UCPM): we are ready to respond to any immediate needs, including food and clean water”. So in a note Josep Borrell and the Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič.
Source: Ansa
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