2023-06-06 13:44:30
An explosion rocked the Nova Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled part of southern Ukraine in the early hours of Tuesday, the 6th.
Thousands of people have started to be evacuated due to the flooding, and the action threatens to affect the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
Russian and Ukrainian officials trade accusations over responsibility for the incident. The Nova Kakhovka Dam is in the Moscow-occupied portion of Kherson.
“The Russian army has committed another act of terror,” Oleksandr Prokudin, head of the Ukrainian-appointed military administration of the Kherson region, said in a Telegram video. “He blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. The water will reach a critical level in five hours. Evacuation in the danger area has already begun.” Still according to the occupation government of Kherson, the river level rose up to 10 meters, and Nova Kakhova is under water.
Also at risk is the Russian-occupied Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is 120 kilometers upriver. Water from the Kakhovka reservoir guaranteed the cooling of its six reactors, five of which have been shut down since last year.
According to administrators, there is no danger now, but if there is a need to cool the remaining reactor, there could be problems if the water level drops considerably.
Russia has blamed Ukrainian attacks for the city’s dam failure, according to the Russian state news agency. Tass.
Confrontation in southern Ukraine
According to news agencies, it is still unclear what happened at the scene. Whether it was a planned explosion, as Kiev had been accusing the invaders of planning for months, or, as the Russians say, an artillery attack during the counter-offensive launched by the Ukrainian government.
The destruction favors the Russians, as it floods the entire area from New Kakhovka to the mouth of the Dnieper River, which has been dammed since 1956 to generate power and supply water to Crimea through a canal. The power plant at the site was completely flooded, according to images on social networks.
Zelensky blames Russia
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyhad an emergency meeting with its security council and accused the Russians.
“Tonight, at 2:50 am, Russian terrorists caused an internal explosion in the structures of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Around 80 locations are in the flood zone,” he said.
The Kremlin denied responsibility and said the destruction was an “act of sabotage by Ukraine”.
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