2023-06-19 04:38:12
BERISLAV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia had the means, the motive and the opportunity to destroy a Ukrainian dam that collapsed this month while under Russian control, according to exclusive drone footage and information obtained by The Associated Press.
Aerial images of the Kakhovka dam shared with the AP appear to show a vehicle packed with explosives on top of the structure, and two officials said Russian soldiers were stationed in a crucial area of the dam where, according to the Ukrainians, the explosion that destroyed it was focused. Russia’s Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The destruction of the dam led to a deadly flood, endangered the fields of one of the countries with the highest cereal production in the world, threatened the supply of drinking water for thousands of people, and unleashed an environmental catastrophe. Ukrainian commanders say it also scuttled some of their plans to seize Russian positions in a counteroffensive that is in its early stages.
Both sides accuse each other of destroying the dam, but separate Russian accusations — that it was hit by a missile or brought down with explosives — fail to explain an outburst of such magnitude that it was detected by seismological monitors in the region.
Russia has benefited from the timing of the massive post-blast flooding, although some of the areas it occupies were also flooded and the consequences may have been more extensive than anticipated.
In the region surrounding the dam, the Dnieper River forms the front between Russian and Ukrainian forces, and the Russians control the dam itself.
Two Ukrainian commanders who had been in the area, but in different locations, told the AP that rapidly rising water levels quickly flooded their and the Russian positions and destroyed equipment, forcing them to start their plans from scratch and leaving them facing a much greater distance to cover, all covered in mud. One of the commanders spoke on condition of anonymity in order to reveal more candidly the extent of the problems caused by the torrent.
“It is regular practice to blow up (sieges) before a withdrawal,” said the other, Illia Zelinskyi, commander of the Bugskiy Guard. “In this context, his actions were to affect some of our supply chains, and also make it difficult for us to cross the Dnieper.”
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Hinnant reported from Paris. Aamer Madhani in Washington and Illia Novikov in kyiv, Ukraine contributed to this report.
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