Russians show Kakhovka Dam destruction in newly surfaced videos — Russian media
Videos depicting the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in the immediate aftermath of Russia's sabotage have surfaced online for the first time in almost 10 months, with Russian Telegram channels releasing the footage on April 5.
Russian soldiers, likely from the 205th brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, allegedly captured the video. They reportedly detonated the power station under orders from Russian authorities.
The footage vividly captures the collapse of the station buildings and the breach of water. Additionally, it shows damaged windows and walls of the power station premises, presumably from the explosion.
Russian forces' Kakhovka Dam sabotage in the summer of 2023:
Russian forces detonated the Kakhovka HPP overnight on June 6, 2023, which they had controlled for over a year. Cities and villages downstream along the Dnipro River were partially or completely flooded, killing over 75 people.
The number of casualties from the dam explosion in the occupied territories remains unknown. According to AP investigations, between 200 and 300 people drowned in the flooded town of Oleshky, Kherson Oblast.
Ukraine's General Staff reported that Russians found over 60 bodies as a result of the flooding following the detonation of the dam and planned to bury them in mass graves without identification.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy referred to the Russian terrorist attack on the Kakhovka Dam as the largest man-made environmental catastrophe in Europe in decades.
The Prosecutor General's Office has initiated a pre-trial investigation into the facts of ecocide and violations of laws and customs of war and has filed a referral to the International Criminal Court.
Russians' detonation of the Kakhovka reservoir caused depopulation (aridization) in southern Ukraine to likely intensify, analysts suggest.
Ukraine's Internal Affairs Ministry announced on Sep. 1, 2023, the completion of the main stage of the aftermath mitigation following the Russian detonation of the Kakhovka Dam.
Read also: EU Environment Commissioner on ecological damage Russia inflicts on Ukraine — interview
Internal Affairs Ministry states:
180 settlements in Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Mykolaiv oblasts, with a population of nearly 900,000 people, were affected by the disaster
Almost 700,000 Ukrainians were left without access to drinking water
148,000 tons of drinking and technical water, 119,000 tons of food and essentials were delivered
Over two thousand Internal Affairs Ministry employees, 300 units of machinery, and over a hundred watercraft were involved in the aftermath mitigation efforts daily
Read also: Zelenskyy: Russian attacks on Ukrainian hydro plants could trigger environmental disaster
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