DISINFO: Kyiv blew up the dam of the Kakhovka reservoir
SUMMARY
Kyiv, having previously arranged a universal hysteria, blew up the dam of the Kakhovka reservoir. The mouthpieces of Russophobic propaganda then raced to accuse Moscow of all sins.
RESPONSE
Pro-Kremlin disinformation claim aiming to shift the blame for the destruction of the Kakhovska hydroelectric power station despite mounting evidence incriminating Russian troops.
The Nova Kakhovka dam was captured by Russia at the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and has been held by it ever since. The evidence suggests Russia blew it up from within.
Among the evidence of Russia’s culpability are seismological traces of explosions in the Russian-occupied dam, forensic reconstructions made with engineering expertise, Russian communications intercepted by the Ukrainian intelligence, and drone footage taken in the previous days showing an explosive-filled car above the facility.
In October 2022, as Ukraine was in the midst of reclaiming large parts of occupied Kherson, Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged the West to warn Russia not to blow up the dam, warning that it would flood a large area of southern Ukraine. At the time, he claimed that Russian forces had planted explosives inside the dam.
High Representative of the EU for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the Commission Josep Borrell said:
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam represents a new dimension of Russian atrocities, putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk. Attacks on civilian infrastructure qualify as war crimes.
Multiple Western leaders have condemned the destruction of the dam, pointing out the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine.
See related disinformation claims alleging that the Kakhovka dam attack is part of Kyiv's political plan, that the Kakhovka dam attack was a pretext for more sanctions, that Russia retreated from Kherson because Ukraine wanted to blow up the Kakhovka dam, that Western weapons deliveries enabled Ukraine to destroy de Kakhovka dam, or that the Kakhovka dam attack serves as a pretext for more sanctions.