DISINFO: Kyiv forces attacked the Kakhovka dam causing floods and dire consequences for the environment
SUMMARY
Kyiv forces attacked the Kakhovka dam on June 6, causing floods on both banks of the Dnieper and dire consequences for the environment in the region.
RESPONSE
Disinformation message aiming to shift the blame for the destruction of Kakhovka hydroelectric power station and the resulting humanitarian and ecological catastrophe away from Russia.
Among the evidences or Russia’s responsibility 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.
See also our article: Kremlin’s tide of disinformation can’t wash away the truth.
The Nova Kakhovka dam was captured by Russia at the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February, and has been held by it since.
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 to the brutality of Russia's war in Ukraine.
See also our account: Kremlin’s tide of disinformation can’t wash away the truth
The attack looks like an attempt to limit Ukrainian forces in their counterattack. It represents a new dimension of Russian atrocities. The downstream flooding is putting at risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of civilians in around 80 settlements, including the city of Kherson. It aggravates the already dire humanitarian situation in those areas.
See related disinformation claims alleging that the Kakhovka dam attack is part pf Kyiv's political plan; Kyiv regime blew up the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station at the dam; and that the Kakhovka dam attack was a pretext for more sanctions.