Report: Russian Troops Block Civilians From Leaving Areas Flooded By Nova Kakhovka Dam Destruction
Russian soldiers are claimed to be blocking civilians from leaving Russian-controlled settlements facing flooding following the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.
A former resident of the town of Oleshky told Russian independent news site Meduza that Russian soldiers had closed roads leading away from the Russian-controlled town as it flooded following the dam’s destruction in an attempt to stop civilians from leaving. The Russian soldiers are claimed to have told civilians attempting to flee the flooding that “you are all going to die here”.
The flooding followed the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam during the early hours of June 6. Ukraine’s state owned hydropower company, Ukrhydroenergo, accused Russian forces of responsibility for an explosion in the hydropower station’s machine hall that completely destroyed it and caused the dam on the Dnipro River to fail, rendering the station beyond repair.
The destruction of the dam has resulted in the uncontrolled release of water previously in the Kakhovka Reservoir, causing flooding downstream in the Kherson region. Ukrainian prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said on Tuesday that Ukrainian authorities were evacuating over 17,000 people from areas flooded or likely to be flooded following the dam’s destruction, with Kostin adding that an additional 25,000 needed to be evacuated from the Russian-controlled left bank of the Dnipro.
Prior to its destruction, the Kakhovka Reservoir provided water for irrigation and drinking to much of southern Ukraine and Crimea. Destruction of the dam and the resulting flooding is believed to have been a Russian attempt to deny Ukrainian forces the ability to easily cross the Dnipro during an upcoming counteroffensive, slowing their ability to advance in Ukraine’s south and possibly threaten Russian control of the Crimean Peninsula. Neglect of the dam is another hypothesis, with the reservoir recording record low and high water levels after Russian forces took control of the dam in the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The reservoir also supplied water for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant’s cooling ponds, with Ukrainian energy company Energoatom stating on Tuesday that despite the destruction of the dam and gradual emptying of the reservoir, the situation at the Russian-occupied plant was “under control” and actively monitored for changes. Following the dam’s destruction, International Atomic Energy Agency director general Rafael Grossi announced that he would be leading a “reinforced” team to the nuclear power plant for the next rotation of the IAEA’s Support and Assistance Mission there.
Ukraine has blamed Russia for the destruction of the dam, with President Volodmyr Zelensky describing the act and the resulting flooding as an “ecological bomb of mass destruction”. Ukraine’s military intelligence service says that it has evidence of Russian culpability, with spokesperson Andriy Yusov claiming that Kyiv had repeatedly warned of Russian preparations to destroy the dam on previous occasions.
Russian occupation authorities initially denied that the dam had been destroyed, but subsequently blamed Ukrainian shelling for the destruction of the dam and subsequent flooding.
United States National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby has stated that the United States currently “cannot say conclusively” on which party was responsible for the dam’s destruction. Kirby’s comments followed a report by NBC that two American officials and one Western official had told the network that Washington was working to declassify some of the intelligence it had showing Russian responsibility for the dam’s destruction.