In the middle of the Ukraine war, the Kakhovka dam is blown up. The Kherson region, which is occupied by Russia, is particularly affected.
Kakhovka – In the midst of Ukraine's much-heralded counteroffensive against Russia, the Kakhovka Dam in the Kherson region was blown up last Tuesday (6 June). Both warring parties blame each other for the destruction. U.S. intelligence believes it must have been a Russian attack. According to Ukrainian officer Andrei Pidlisnyi, however, the Russian military was particularly affected by the consequences of the explosion.
Pidlisnyi told CNN: "No one on the Russian side has been able to escape. All the regiments that the Russians had on this side were flooded." For example, the Ukrainians witnessed how Vladimir Putin's troops were swept away by the floods after the collapse of the dam. The soldiers are said to have observed the events with the help of drones.
This satellite image, provided by Maxar Technologies via AP, shows the destroyed Kakhovka Dam. © Uncredited/Maxar Technologies/AP/dpa
Russia is said to have blown up the Kakhovka dam: several settlements flooded
Despite the allegedly numerous Russian victims, the Ukrainian officer agrees with the assumption of American intelligence. In the interview, he said: "At about 3 o'clock in the morning, the enemy blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in order to raise the water level and flood the approaches and the left bank of the Dnipro, as well as the settlements there. And to make it impossible for the Ukrainian armed forces to advance further."
The government in Kiev around President Volodymyr Zelensky also believes in an act of sabotage on the part of Moscow. Thus, the Russian military deliberately blew up the dam. Satellite images, on the other hand, suggest that it could be a structural failure, according to CNN. Russia occupied the Kakhovka Dam in March last year. (Jakob von Sass)