A critical dam and hydroelectric power plant along the front line in southern Ukraine was destroyed on Tuesday, videos verified by The New York Times show, putting thousands of people at risk of flooding and raising questions about safety at a nuclear plant upstream.
It was not immediately clear who was responsible for the attack on the Kakhovka dam and electric plant, which lies along the Dnipro river and is under Russian control. President Volodymyr Zelensky blamed “Russian terrorists” and Ukrainian officials said Russian forces had caused an explosion at the facility. The Kremlin’s spokesman, Dmitry S. Peskov, blamed the destruction of the dam on Ukrainian forces, calling in a “sabotage” attack.
The disaster, which came a day after American and Russian officials said a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive had begun, sent a torrent of water gushing through the damaged sections of the dam and power plant, according to footage. Most experts think the counteroffensive will be east of the river, but the destruction of the dam could divert both sides’ attention and resources.
The barrier, which is located on the Dnipro river and holds back a body of water the size of the Great Salt Lake in Utah, maintains a reservoir that supplies water for drinking, agriculture and the cooling of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power station.
The UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency, said that it was “closely monitoring” the situation at the nuclear plant but that there was “no immediate nuclear safety risk”.
Security of the dam, the second largest of the cascade of six dams on the Dnipro river and a vital source of water and power had been a continuing concern during the war, with both sides accusing the other of plotting to destroy it.
Looking downstream, Russia controls the left bank of the Dnipro and the dam itself, and Ukraine holds the right bank.
Footage posted on social media, not all of which has been independently verified by Reuters, shows severe flooding in the Russian-controlled town of Nova Kakhovka, which is next to the dam.
The town’s Russian-installed mayor said water levels in the town had risen to over 11 metres and that some residents had been taken to hospital. He did not give details.
In one clip, swans swim past the ornate city council building, while in another a sports stadium next to the river is inundated. The Russian-installed administration of Ukraine’s Kherson region said it was preparing to evacuate three districts.
New York Times News Service and Reuters
