Media identified Russian soldiers holding Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant when it exploded

Journalists from Skhemy and Slidstvo.info identified the Russian units and their commanders who controlled the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) on the night of its explosion. Their conversations were also intercepted.

Source: Skhemy (Schemes), project by Radio Liberty, Slidstvo.Info

Details: Investigators managed to establish the names of a number of Russian soldiers of the 205th Separate Cossack Motor Rifle Brigade of the Russian Ground Forces, which directly controlled the Kakhovka HPP. 

The videos filmed by Russian propaganda media at the dam and on the premises of the hydroelectric power plant were helpful in identifying them, despite the fact that the soldiers were hiding their faces with balaclavas.

In particular, they managed to identify 35-year-old Arsen Pitskhelauri with the call sign Gruzin (Georgian), who, judging by a photo on the Russian social network Vkontakte, took an active part in the occupation of Kherson Oblast.

According to the occupier's friends, he still remains in Nova Kakhovka along with other soldiers of the 205th motorised brigade. They also revealed that after the blowing up of the dam, Gruzin was summoned to Russia for awarding.

The journalists also managed to identify Ruslan Magomedov, a sergeant of the engineer battalion of the 205th Separate Cossack Motor Rifle Brigade, who was decorated in December 2022 with the Russian Order of Merit.

He was decorated by the deputy commander of the 205th brigade with the call sign Poligon, also identified by journalists. This is 36-year-old Major Denis Mishchenko. The decoration took place near the hydroelectric power plant in the Park of Glory of Nova Kakhovka.вки.

The fact that the soldiers of the 205th Separate Cossack Motor Rifle Brigade blew up the Kakhovka HPP is the main version voiced by both Ukrainian officials and the media.

Journalists received an updated list of fighters of the 205th brigade from sources in one of the state special forces of Ukraine. These are almost four hundred people who serve in motorised rifle battalions, a special communications company, howitzer self-propelled artillery battalions, a rocket artillery division, an anti-tank artillery division, an anti-aircraft missile division, a reconnaissance battalion, an engineering and combat engineer battalion and other units of the 205th Separate Cossack Motor Rifle Brigade.

According to the document received, Colonel Roman Titov is indicated as the commander of the 205th brigade.

Colonel Titov, even before he headed the brigade, was known to Ukrainian intelligence. According to the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine, Titov has been "directly involved in criminal activities in Ukraine" since March 2015.

Journalists found that the soldiers of the 205th brigade are still in Nova Kakhovka. This was confirmed in a conversation with a soldier of the Russian National Guard familiar with the fighters of the 205th brigade.

Taking into account the interception of the conversations of the military of the 205th brigade on the night of the destruction of the dam, which the journalists managed to get, the Russian invaders were preparing to act on command. And it was at that time that residents began to report explosions and incomprehensible noise in the chats of the city of Nova Kakhovka on social media. This took place between 2:18 and 2:34 on 6 June.

It follows from the context of the conversation that two important events occurred. First, the Russian military was preparing to do something "on command." Second, in the understanding of the Russian military, which, judging by the conversation, was on or near the dam at the time of the explosion, there was an "emergency". What follows is a fragment of the intercepted conversation provided to journalists by a source among the Ukrainian military (the conversation takes place between 2.20 and 2.34 on the night of 5-6 June).

Intercepted conversation:

02:20 - How’s the situation? That’s first. Secondly, get ready, get ready; everything is on command, how did you hear me?

02:20 - That's it, that's it, it's going.. 

02:21 - Roger, move out to the point, to the point, take everything.

02:21 - We can’t take anything.

02.30 - Emergency. Just so you know, all is done here, the departure is blocked and everything is covered by water. 

02.34 - Move to where you were picked up and left.

02.34 - They cannot get out; everything is flooded.

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