Ukrainian plot to break dam revealed by media – RT Russia and the former Soviet Union
kyiv was planning to attack the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant on the Dnieper, a former commander tells The Washington Post
Ukrainian forces planned to damage a major hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River in Russia’s Kherson region to cripple the movement of forces from Moscow, who were then defending the key city of Kherson, The Washington Post reported Thursday, citing a former Ukrainian commander. . The revelation comes despite claims by kyiv that the destruction of the facility would be a « large-scale disaster ».
Speaking to the newspaper, Major General Andrey Kovalchuk, who previously headed the Southern Ukrainian Operational Command, described kyiv’s attempts to push back Russian forces that were stationed on the right bank of the Dnieper by cutting off their supply lines. ‘supply. To this end, Ukraine has repeatedly bombarded several crossing points using American-made HIMARS missiles.
Kovalchuk also considered flooding the river by attacking the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. The general said, as reported by the Post, that the forces of kyiv « even carried out a test strike with a HIMARS launcher on one of the valves. » The purpose of the « experiment » was to « see if the water in the Dnieper could be high enough to block Russian crossings but not flood nearby villages. »
The ex-commander described the test as « a success, » but decided to resort to such an attack only if there were no other options left.
Russian forces eventually withdrew from Kherson behind the Dnieper in early November. At the time, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu explained that Ukraine’s recurrent attacks on the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam posed a serious risk to both military and civilians. If attempts to blow up the dam are successful, » malls « could be flooded and the troops there could have been cut off from the rest of the Russian forces.
At the end of October, Moscow called on the UN to prevent Ukraine from destroying the dam. This « abominable provocation » could result in the deaths of thousands of civilians, Russia said at the time.
In the same month, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that Moscow had planted bombs in the dam. “Blowing up the dam would mean a full-scale disaster,” he said.
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