Kiev accuses Russian troops of destroying it, Moscow: “It collapsed”. Ordered evacuations of surrounding villages
L’Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, on the Dnieper River, 60 kilometers from the city of Kherson. The Southern Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denounced the destruction of the infrastructure and said it is investigating the extent of the damage, as well as the speed and amount of water that would affect the probable flood areas.
Moscow reported that the dam collapsed “due to damage”, as a result of which nearby territories were flooded”. “The night was quiet. The dam failed, a post collapsed and flooding started,” a source told Russia’s TASS news agency.
Russia blew up the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station! Do you understand what’s going on?!
This is a threat to the Zaporizhzhia NPP! This is a threat to a large number of settlements in the Kherson region! Putin is so afraid of a counteroffensive that he staged an ecocide! pic.twitter.com/vPgfj9G4Cf
— Oleksiy Goncharenko (@GoncharenkoUa) June 6, 2023
The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, months ago accused the Russian forces – which have controlled the infrastructure since the beginning of the invasion – of having planted mines in the plant with the intention of causing catastrophic floods in nearby communities to slow down the advance of the Kiev forces.
Russian emergency services also reported Ukrainian rocket attacks on the press, which, however, did not cause serious damage.
The Zelensky adviser, Andriy Yermak, accuses Moscow of ‘ecocide‘, stating that regional and national authorities are working to insure local populations from the risk of flooding. Furthermore, Yermak stresses that Moscow’s action poses a threat to the nearby Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.
Zelensky summons Security Council
Zelensky has called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council for the dam. Meanwhile Anton Gerashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, announced on Telegram that the evacuations of the surrounding villages have been ordered, which fall within what is defined as the “danger zone” of floods on the right bank of the Dnieper. The population is also urged to turn off electrical equipment.
Source-www.adnkronos.com