Russians blew up Kakhovka power plant on Putin’s orders, water level was raised just before explosion – Ukrainian official
Oleksii Danilov, Secretary of Ukraine’s National Security and Defence Council (NSDC), has said that Russian forces deliberately blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) on orders from the Kremlin.
Source: Oleksii Danilov on air during Radio Svoboda’s (Radio Liberty’s) segment Svoboda Ranok (Liberty Morning)
Quote from Danilov: "Russian terrorists blew up the dam using explosives they planted way ahead of time, in September or October of last year, most likely on orders from Moscow. All of this happened yesterday.
The Kremlin, and Putin’s office specifically, issued the order to carry out this act of terrorism. Orders like this aren’t normally issued at lower levels. This isn’t the level of a battalion or a division, or even [Russian Defence Minister Sergei] Shoigu’s level."
Details: According to Danilov, Russian forces raised the water level at the Kakhovka HPP just before the explosion, given that they controlled the power plant.
The NSDC Secretary said the Russians blew up the power plant because they were expecting Ukraine’s counteroffensive.
Quote from Danilov: "They are expecting our counteroffensive. They raised the [water] level to the highest level possible. It was 18.16 metres, and they raised it to over 19 metres. They deliberately accumulated [water] so that the explosion would cause more damage."
Details: Danilov added that although the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP could affect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), the situation will be stable over the next four months.
Background:
- Russian occupation forces seized the North Crimean Canal and the Kakhovka HPP, in Kherson Oblast, on the first day of the full-scale invasion, 24 February 2022.
- On the morning of 6 June, Ukraine’s Operational Command Pivden (South) reported that Russian occupation forces had blown up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP). The dam and the power plant's turbine hall were completely destroyed. The hydroelectric power plant is beyond repair. The draining of the Kakhovka reservoir threatens the security of the ZNPP.
- The destruction of the Kakhovka HPP has caused an ecological disaster. Water from the reservoir has begun to flood towns and villages, and local residents are being evacuated from dangerous areas. The blowing up of the dam at the Kakhovka HPP has caused 150,000 tonnes of machine oil to spill into the River Dnipro, and there are problems with water supply in the cities of Kryvyi Rih, Marhanets and Nikopol, in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
- A week before the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was blown up, the Russian authorities allowed the non-investigation of accidents at high-risk facilities that occurred as a result of "military operations" and terrorist attacks.
- Early reports indicate that the Kakhovka HPP was blown up by the 205th Separate Cossack Motor Rifle Brigade of the Russian armed forces.
- The West was initially hesitant about who was responsible for the disaster, but both the US government and the media are now inclined to believe that Russia deliberately caused it. Ukraine’s Defence Intelligence has evidence that Russian occupation forces used explosives to blow up the Kakhovka power plant.
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