In the midst of the exchange of accusations between Kiev and Moscow about the allegedly provoked collapse of the Kakhovka dam that unleashed massive floods and serious environmental damage, the Ukrainian national security service said this Friday, June 9, that it has evidence that the disaster was caused by Russian troops. Meanwhile, the Kremlin accused the Ukrainian army of launching bombardments in which flood victims reportedly died.
The destruction of the hydroelectric power station and the collapse of the huge Nova Kakhovka dam, in southern Ukraine, it would have been a deliberate action by the Russian army, kyiv says.
The Ukrainian Security Service published on June 9 a one and a half minute audio clip on its Telegram channel, in which it exposes an alleged intercepted call from two Moscow soldiers in which they would discuss the consequences of the action of their troops.
“They (the Ukrainians) did not attack. That was our sabotage group (…) They wanted to scare (people) with that dam. It did not go as planned and (they did) more than they planned,” one of the attackers would admit. interlocutors.
The second man in the communication expressed surprise at the soldier’s claim about the responsibility of the Russian military.
Since the humanitarian and environmental disaster broke out on June 6, the Ukrainian authorities have pointed to the blame of the Russian troops, since the event occurred both in the town and in the hydroelectric plant controlled by Vladimir Putin’s military, after he ordered the large-scale invasion of the neighboring country on February 24, 2022.
But now, with the alleged evidence, kyiv reported that it had opened a criminal investigation against Russia for “war crimes” and “ecocide”.
“The interception by the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) confirms that the Kakhovskaya HPP hydroelectric power station was blown up by a sabotage group of the occupiers (…) The invaders wanted to blackmail Ukraine by blowing up the dam and staged a man-made disaster by man in the south of our country,” the state agency said in a statement.
“By blowing up the Kakhovskaya HPP dam, the Russian Federation definitively demonstrated that it is a threat to the entire civilized world (…) Our task is to bring to Justice not only the leaders of the Putin regime, but also common perpetrators of crimes “added the director of the SBU, Vasyl Malyuk, quoted in the statement.
The evidence that kyiv claims to have has not been independently verified.
Ukraine reports at least five dead and 13 missing from the collapse of the Kakhovka dam
In the last hours, the Ukrainian Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko indicated that four people have died as a result of the floods and another 13 are missing in the Kherson region. In addition, one person died in neighboring Mikolaiv.
A day earlier, the mayor imposed by Moscow in the city of Nova Kakhovka, belonging to the Kherson oblast where the disaster originated, Vladimir Leontyevassured that five people died in the area.
Meanwhile, thousands of civilians continue to face the consequences of the floods that for the past four days have reached an average height of five meters.
Thousands of homes and entire towns are covered in water and thousands of wild animals have died.
While many citizens remain on rooftops waiting for rescue, relief operations are particularly difficult. Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky assured that his Army is accelerating its efforts, but criticized the lack of help from large organizations such as the UN, which he points out as crucial at this time.
In addition, the affected towns and villages are located on both sides of the Dnieper River, whose eastern bank is controlled by the Russian Army and the western side remains under the administration of Ukraine.
Kiev accuses Moscow of not providing the necessary help to save the residents of the places it occupies, while the Kremlin-imposed authorities there reject it and hurl accusations at its counterpart.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov blamed Ukrainian forces on Friday for alleged “barbaric” shelling in the flooded areas, which killed several civilians, including a pregnant woman.
However, in the last few days rescuers from the American NGO, Global Empowerment Mission, on the right bank of the Dnieper river, controlled by Ukraine, assured that they have had to advance their relief work under the roar of Russian bombs.
Amid the emergency in Nova Kakhovka, attacks continue in other parts of Ukraine
Zaporizhia, also in the south of the country attacked by Moscow for more than 15 months, was hit again this Friday by air and artillery attacks.
kyiv said two civilians – a nurse and a plumber – were killed in a Russian shelling attack on a hospital in the town of Huliai Pole.
Andriy Yermak, head of President Volodimir Zelensky’s office, added that two other people were injured in the small town near the front lines.
⚡️Authorities: 2 killed in Russian attack on medical facility in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Russian forces hit a medical facility in Huliaipole with a guided aerial bomb, the regional administration reported on June 9.
📷 Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration pic.twitter.com/QdJ7PojvYu
— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 9, 2023
Meanwhile, the Moscow attackers asserted that they repelled assaults by the local Army in the same region and in Donetsk, which belongs to the greater Donbass region, in eastern Ukraine.
“Ukrainian armed forces continued attempts to conduct offensive operations in the southern directions of Donetsk and Zaporozhia,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Moscow even pointed out that in its armed response it killed some 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers, destroyed dozens of tanks and armored vehicles. But that information has not been ratified by the authorities of the attacked nation.
The Kremlin added that its troops also repelled two attacks just south of the city of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhia region.
In the early hours of this Friday, kyiv denounced more Russian attacks with drones and missiles in the Zhytomyr region, where, it says, at least one resident died and three were injured.
Last night Russia launched another combined drone-missile attack on Ukraine.
Our Air defense shot down 4 cruise missiles and 14 drones – Air Forces.
Missile fragments fell in Zhytomyr region, destroying a house and damaging several more. 1 person died, three more injured.… pic.twitter.com/WvMgQeL1LL
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) June 9, 2023
For months, Ukraine has been preparing for a counteroffensive that officials in kyiv and Washington hope will break through the front line and defeat Russian troops.
But in recent days and given the magnitude of the emergency in Nova Kakhovka, the Ukrainian Army has transferred large contingents to that area to help civilians, while pointing to Moscow’s responsibility for the disaster as an alleged strategy to stop the announced operations. from Kiev.
With Reuters and AP
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