Russia accused of blowing up Ukraine dam on the Dnipro River
Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia must be expelled from every corner of Ukraine after it was accused of blowing up a hydro-electric power plant dam.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russia must be expelled from every corner of Ukraine after it was accused of blowing up a hydro-electric power plant dam, causing mass evacuations and which could slow or halt the Ukrainian offensive.
The 60-year-old Nova Kakhovka dam, which was breached with a series of explosions on Tuesday, released significant water into the Dnipro River towards the Black Sea, affecting about 80 settlements, and dislodging landmines.
The water from the dam is used to cool the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in the country’s southeast and provides hydro electricity for three million people.
About 16,000 people were being urgently evacuated from Kherson by train on Tuesday night Australian time.
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said on Telegram that Russian forces blew up the dam “in a panic”. Extensive flooding is now expected on the banks of the river while upstream the reservoir will turn into a mud flat.
Mr Zelensky said the dam’s destruction only confirmed Russia must be expelled from all Ukrainian territory.
“Not a single metre should be left to them, because they use every metre for terror,’’ he said, adding that he had convened the national security and defence council and that “all services are working”.
European Council president Charles Michel said he was shocked and that the destruction of the dam qualified as a war crime.
Dam operator UkrHydroEnergo said the engine room had been destroyed and “the station cannot be restored”, which will lead to the reservoir emptying within the next four days.
“Uncontrolled decrease of water level is an additional threat for temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant,” it said.
“The water from Kakhovka reservoir is necessary so the plant receives power for turbine capacitors and safety systems of the ZNPP. Currently the station cooling pond is full. Ukrainian personnel at the plant is monitoring all indicators closely.”
The country’s nuclear plant operator confirmed the cooling pond was full and there was enough for the plant’s current requirements.
Mr Zelensky earlier praised his troops for advances claimed near the devastated city of Bakhmut, while Russia said it had repelled a large-scale attack.
“Well done, warriors! We see how hysterically Russia reacts to any step we take there, all positions we take. The enemy knows that Ukraine will win,” he said in a video message published on social media.
By contrast, Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Ganna Malyar noted “some success” on the battlefield.
“The Bakhmut sector remains the epicentre of the hostilities. We are advancing there on a rather wide front,” she said.
“The defensive operation includes counter-offensive actions. Therefore, in some sectors, we are conducting offensive actions.”
Russia said last month it had seized Bakhmut, the scene of the longest and one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
The Russian and Ukrainian claims could not be independently verified. High-profile Russian war correspondent Alexander Kots said “battles have been going on” around Vugledar, in the south of the Donetsk region, and further north in Soledar and Bakhmut. Kots said Ukrainian forces were “conducting offensive operations” in and around Bakhmut but suggested Kyiv had not yet “introduced the main forces into battle”.
Ukraine says it has been preparing a major offensive to recapture territory lost to Russia, but that there would be no announcement about when it would start.
The boss of Russian mercenary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, also said on Monday that Ukraine’s troops had made gains near Bakhmut.
H said Russian troops were “slowly” leaving the village of Berkhivka near Bakhmut, which he said was a “disgrace”.
Additional reporting: AFP
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