DISINFO: The Kiev regime attacked and damaged the dam of the Kakhovka HPP
SUMMARY
The Kiev regime attacked and damaged the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) on June 6, leading to the destruction of its upper part and the uncontrollable release of a huge amount of water down the Dnepr River.
However, the sabotage has posed risks upstream, too, given that water from the Kakhovka reservoir is used to cool the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant's (NPP) six reactors and spent fuel storage.
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The Kiev regime's nuclear adventurism does not end here: the Russian Ministry of Defense has repeatedly warned about a potential Ukrainian false flag operation involving a "dirty bomb," i.e. an explosive device loaded with radioactive materials.
RESPONSE
Disinformation message aiming to shift the blame for the destruction of Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station and the resulting humanitarian and ecological catastrophe away from Russia. It also includes recurrent pro-Kremlin disinformation narratives about alleged Ukrainian provocations involving a false flag attacks and dirty bombs.
The Nova Kakhovka dam was captured by Russia at the start of the invasion of Ukraine in February, and has been held by it ever since.
Scientific seismic surveillance data from a Norwegian station in neighbouring Romania show seismic activity indicating a powerful explosion at the dam.
In October 2022, as Ukraine was in the midst of reclaiming large parts of occupied Kherson, Volodymyr Zelenskiy 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.
The claim alleging Ukraine was going to use a dirty bomb is not backed up with evidence. It aims to exploit fears about a nuclear catastrophe as part of Russia’s nuclear blackmail campaign. Accusing others of “false flag operations” and “setups” to increase tensions or cover Russia’s own illicit actions are frequent pro-Kremlin disinformation techniques.
See related disinformation claims alleging that the Kakhovka dam attack is part pf Kyiv's political plan; and that the Kakhovka dam attack was a pretext for more sanctions.
See also disinformation claims related to nuclear issues: Uranium depleted shells are dirty bombs, Ukraine stores Western weapons in nuclear power plants, Kyiv passed from rejecting nuclear weapons to preparing a dirty bomb, Ukraine will shoot down its dirty bomb, then blame it on Russia.