After the partial destruction of the Kakhovka dam, Zelensky denounces the “war crime”

Ecological disaster and military failure. Located on the front line separating Russian and Ukrainian forces, the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in southern Ukraine was partially destroyed by several explosions between the night of Monday June 5 and Tuesday June 6, causing massive flooding to reach the city. Kherson, at the mouth of the Dnieper River. The move, whose environmental impact could be devastating, but should also complicate an expected counterattack by Ukrainian forces, prevented them from crossing the river to attack the Russians from the west.

While the circumstances of the incident remained unclear Tuesday morning, Ukrainian authorities accused Moscow of sabotaging the work. “Russia destroys Kakhovka dam, causing perhaps Europe’s biggest technological disaster in decades, putting thousands of civilians at risk”Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba condemned it on Twitter. “The destruction of civilian infrastructure is clearly a war crime, and we will hold Russia and its associates accountable.”– added Charles Michel, President of the European Council. Moscow has denied the accusations that it blames Ukraine for the terrorist attack.

In the early hours of the morning, the Ukrainian authorities called on the residents of the banks to evacuate the area to take shelter from the rising waters. At least 16,000 people were affected, Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Kherson region military administration, said on social media. Electricity and gas have been cut off in several areas, and pictures posted on social media show that several villages are already partially flooded. President Volodymyr Zelensky called an emergency meeting of the Security Council to decide on measures to protect the population.

In Zaporizhia, “there is no immediate risk”

On the other hand, the Russian local authorities rejected the consequences of the partial destruction of the Kakhovka structure and said that no major cities are threatened by floods. “According to the emergency service, the water has risen (…) at a level of 2 to 4 meters, which does not pose a threat to large areas” It is located below the dam, Andrei Alekseenko, the head of the government of the Kherson region installed by Russia, said on Telegram. Experts believe that the left bank of the Dnieper, in the territory under Russian control, should be the most affected by the rising water.