A catastrophe occurs in the Ukraine war with the explosion at the Kachowka dam. Russia suspects Kiev itself to be behind the “deliberate sabotage”.
KIEV – So far, the question of who is responsible for the destruction of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine cannot be clarified beyond doubt. According to Ukrainian sources, the associated hydroelectric power station was “completely destroyed” in the explosion that occurred on Tuesday morning (June 6). Even repairs are no longer possible, as the head of the energy operator announced. According to the Ukrainian interior minister, 24 towns have been inundated by the water masses.
From the Ukrainian side, Russia is the cause of the humanitarian and ecological catastrophe caused by the destruction of the Kakhovka dam. Moscow obviously has the goal of putting obstacles in the way of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, commented the Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak on the events on Twitter. He accused Russia of deliberately “blow up” the dam.
Ukraine war: Russia sees ‘sabotage’ by Kiev behind dam explosion
On the other hand, on the Russian side, any involvement in the dam explosion is denied. In its statement, the Kremlin said that Ukraine itself brought about the destruction of the facility: “This is clearly a case of deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side, which was planned and carried out on behalf of Kiev, the Kiev regime,” said a Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the state news agency mug.
The dam is located on territory currently occupied by the Russians in southern Ukraine. Vladimir Leontiev, the mayor of Nova Kakhovka, who was also appointed by Russia, described the explosion to Russian media as a “serious terrorist attack” and a “disaster caused by the Ukrainian authorities and those who govern them”.
Russia accuses Ukraine: dam blow-up could weaken position of Kherson
The Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu also blamed Kiev for the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam, which is also strategically important from a military point of view, and went one step further: According to his statement, the expected counter-offensive of the country, which was shaken by the Ukraine war, had already begun in the last few days. However, this has not been successful so far. Now Kiev intends to weaken the Russian positions in the Cherson region – apparently also with floods.
“For three days” the Ukrainian regime carried out its announced counter-offensive at various points along the front lines, Shoigu told the state news agency on Russian television RIA Novosti. “The offensive attempts were thwarted, the enemy was stopped,” he commented further, attesting to the “courage and heroism” that the Russian soldiers had shown in the fighting. Kiev has also suffered “considerable and unparalleled losses”.
Russia says Ukraine’s counteroffensive ‘stopped’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said last Saturday that his country’s military was ready for a counteroffensive against Russian forces. “We firmly believe that we will be successful,” he said in an interview with the US newspaper Wall Street Journal. However, the Ukrainian head of state did not give an exact date for the start of the counteroffensive.
“Everything indicates that the Russians blew up the dam,” military expert Carlo Masala told the news portal t-online. The facilities of the Kakhovka dam have been occupied by Russian forces since last year, and the area is now flooded. According to Masala, Russia is trying to slow down a Ukrainian counter-offensive that has already begun.
A river crossing is a difficult operation for armed forces, according to the professor at the Bundeswehr University in Munich. With rising water and flooding of both banks of the river, Ukrainian offensive operations in that place would become practically impossible. Nevertheless, Russia will not be able to completely stop a counter-offensive.
Ukraine war: dam blast “counterproductive” from Ukrainian point of view – but Russia benefits
The military expert Christian Mölling from the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP) also sees Russia behind the demolition. “The Russians want to confuse the Ukrainian counter-offensive, which is beginning to have an effect in some places,” Mölling told the newspapers of the Funke media group. “Moreover, if it had been the Ukrainians, it would jeopardize Western support. That would be counterproductive.”
Due to the flooding, fewer Russian soldiers should now be present on the east side of the Dnipro River. This would allow Russia to distribute forces to other front sections in the east. However, it is unlikely that a push across the Dnipro will be at the center of Kiev’s counter-offensive. (na/dpa/afp)
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