The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Ukraine accuses Russia of destroying major dam and warns over flooding
The wall of a major dam in a part of southern Ukraine that Moscow controls has collapsed – triggering floods, endangering Europe’s largest nuclear power plant and threatening drinking water supplies as both sides in the war rushed to evacuate residents and blamed each other for the emergency.
Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper River, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian military strikes in the contested area.
It was not possible to verify either claim.
The potentially farreaching environmental and social consequences of the disaster quickly became clear as homes, streets and businesses flooded downstream and emergency crews began evacuations, officials raced to check cooling systems at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station and authorities expressed concern about supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.
Yesterday’s dam break adds a new dimension to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its 16th month.
Ukrainian forces were widely seen to be moving forward with a long-anticipated counteroffensive in patches along more than 620 miles of frontline in the east and south of Ukraine.
It was not immediately clear whether either side benefits from the damage to the dam, since both Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-held lands are at risk of flooding.
The damage could hinder Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south and distract its government, while at the same time Russia depends on the dam to supply water to Crimea.
Patricia Lewis, director of the International Security Programme at the Chatham House think tank in London, said apportioning blame is difficult but “there are all sorts of reasons why Russia would do this”.
“There were reports (last autumn) of Russians having mined the reservoir. The question we should pose is why the Ukrainians would do this to themselves, given this is Ukrainian territory,” she said.
Experts said previously the dam structure was suffering from disrepair.
David Helms, a retired American scientist who has monitored the reservoir
since the start of the war, said it was not clear if the damage was deliberate or simple neglect from Russian forces occupying the facility.
But Mr Helms reserved judgment, noting a Russian history of attacking dams.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council.
He alleged that Russian forces set off a blast inside the dam structure at 2.50am (11.50pm on Monday GMT) and said some 80 settlements were in danger.
But Kremlin spokesman
Dmitry Peskov called it “a deliberate act of sabotage by the Ukrainian side... aimed at cutting water supplies to Crimea”.
Both sides warned of a looming environmental disaster.
Ukraine’s Presidential Office said some 150 metric tonnes of oil escaped from the dam machinery and another 300 tonnes could still leak out.
Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, posted a video showing swans swimming near an administrative building in the flooded streets of Russian-occupied Nova Kakhovka, a city in the Kherson region where
some 45,000 people lived before the war.
Other footage he posted showed flood waters reaching the second floor of the building.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry called for residents of 10 villages on the Dnieper’s right bank and parts of the city of Kherson downriver to gather essential documents and pets, turn off appliances and leave – while cautioning against possible disinformation.
The Russian-installed mayor of occupied Nova Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontyev, said it was being evacuated as water poured into the city.