MOSCOW ACCUSED OF BLOWING UP NOVA KAKHOVKA DAM IN KHERSON REGION

Tue 06 June 2023:

The Ukrainian government has accused Russia, of blowing up the Nova Kakhovka dam on the Dnipro River, and called for people living downstream, to evacuate in the face of catastrophic flooding.

The governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin said, about 16,000 people were in the “critical zone” on the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the river and people were being evacuated for districts upstream of Kherson city.

As aerial footage circulated on social media, showing most of the dam wall washed away and a massive surge of water heading downstream, the army’s Southern Operational Command put up a Facebook post accusing “Russian occupation troops” of blowing up the hydroelectric dam.

A Moscow-installed official, Vladimir Leontev, in the Russian-controlled Ukrainian town of Nova Kakhovka, has told Russian state television, that the damage to the dam, was the result of a series of Ukrainian strikes.

The disaster happened on the second day of Ukrainian offensive, operations likely to mark the early stages of a mass counteroffensive. It could affect any Ukrainian plans for an amphibious assault across the river.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called an emergency meeting of his national security council on Tuesday in the wake of the disaster.

Ukraine calls for ‘urgent’ UN Security Council meeting over dam blast

Ukraine’s foreign ministry has called for “an urgent meeting” at the United Nations Security Council to discuss what it called a “Russian terrorist attack” on the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

In a statement, the ministry also told the UN’s International Atomic Agency’s board of governors to discuss the dam blast and demanded new international sanctions on Russia, and in particular the Russian missile industry and nuclear sector.

Moscow accused of blowing up Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson region pic.twitter.com/qdN48toyVB

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) June 6, 2023

Kremlin says the Kakhovka dam blast was sabotaged by Ukraine

Kremlin spokesperson Dimitry Peskov says the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in the Russian-controlled Kherson region was a “deliberate” sabotage by Ukraine.

He added that Russian President Vladimir Putin had been briefed about the situation and said that “Russia strongly denies allegations of involvement in the attack.”

Peskov also highlighted that Kyiv carried out the attack since it did not achieve its “counteroffensive goals.”

“One of the goals of Ukraine’s sabotage at the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station is to deprive Crimea of water,” he said and added that “Russia has already taken action before the canal was put into operation, so there is a degree of safety.”

The United Kingdom’s foreign minister, James Cleverly, called the destruction of the dam “an abhorrent act” in a statement on Twitter. He added that “intentionally attacking exclusively civilian infrastructure is a war crime.”

The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, expressed a similar sentiment and said he was shocked by the incident. In a tweet, he also said that Russia and its “proxies” will be held “accountable.”

Ukraine, Russia blame each other for blowing up Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson region.#NOVAKAKHOVKA #Kherson #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/brsZrvZcUZ

— INDEPENDENT PRESS (@IpIndependent) June 6, 2023

IAEA calls on Ukraine, Russia to spare Zaporizhzhia’s cooling pond

The UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant should have enough water to cool its reactors for “some months” from a pond located above the reservoir of a nearby dam that has broken.

The agency also called on Russia and Ukraine to “spare” the pond.

“Nothing must be done to potentially undermine its integrity. I call on all sides to ensure nothing is done to undermine that,” IAEA chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement.

No threat to Ukraine’s energy stability after dam blast, says ministry

Ukraine’s energy ministry says the destruction of the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, does not pose a threat to the country’s energy stability.

“The explosion…did not directly affect the situation in the country’s energy system. There are no threats to the stability of the electricity supply,” the ministry said in a statement.

“The produced electricity is sufficient to cover the needs of consumers,” the ministry added.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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