Update – WAR DISASTER IN UKRAINE: At Least 5 Killed in the Floods of Kakhovka Dam “Hit by Ukraine Missiles”
by Fabio Giuseppe Carlo Carisio
UPDATE ON JUNE, 9, 2023
«The barbaric act of destroying the Kakhovka hydroelectric plant in the Kherson region» represents for Russian President Vladimir Putin a gamble of Ukraine and its Western supporters in a dangerous escalation.
He said it from the Kremlin speaking on the phone Wednesday with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Putin also highlighted the “massive ecological and humanitarian catastrophe” downstream which this morning recorded the first death toll.
At least five people were killed and 41 were injured in the wake of the breach of the Kakhovka dam, the mayor of the city hosting the damaged structure has said.
“Reports came today that out of the seven people, who were grazing cattle, five died. We are in the process of evacuating the other two,”Novaya Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontyev reported during an interview on Thursday.
More details in Italian version (with International translation available), English version coming as soon as possible
UPDATE ON JUNE, 7 2023 – 3,35 AM – CET
At least seven people went missing in the Russian city of Novaya Kakhovka after a local hydroelectric dam was destroyed on Tuesday in what Moscow claims was a Ukrainian strike, local authorities said on Wednesday.
Speaking to reporters, Vladimir Leontyev, the mayor of Novaya Kakhovka, noted, however, that preliminary information indicates that those people may have been rescued from the islands on the Dnieper River that went underwater.
“We are talking about herdsmen there… There were seven people that we know about for sure”, he stated, adding that search and rescue efforts are still underway.
The mayor went on to say that the riverside settlement of Korsunka had gone completely underwater, while in the settlements of Dniepriany, Krynky, and Kazachiy Lageri the water had reached the buildings’ roofs.
He also stated that on Tuesday the local authorities had managed to evacuate more than 900 people from the flooded areas, adding that this number includes 17 people who had been stranded on the roofs of buildings in an attempt to evade the gushing water.
Meanwhile, Leontyev noted that the water level in Novaya Kakhovka decreased by 35cm overnight. A day earlier, local emergency services said that the water in the area had risen by as much as 12 meters.
The authorities in Russia’s Kherson Region, where the dam breach took place, declared a state of emergency across the entire territory. Vladimir Saldo, the local governor, said that in total between 22,000 and 40,000 people were located in the disaster area.
Moscow and Kiev traded accusations over who is to blame for the incident, which triggered mass evacuation efforts on both sides of the Dnieper River.
Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov accused Ukraine of “deliberate sabotage” (details below) in a bid to deprive Crimea of drinking water and deflect attention away from Kiev’s botched counteroffensive in Donbass.
City of Novaya Kakhovka Flooded after Dam destruction in Kherson “by Ukrainian Missiles from an Olkha MLRS” (video)
UPDATE ON JUNE, 6, 2023 – 11,30 AM – CET
«The water level in the Dnieper river has soared by more than 10 meters in the area of Novaya Kakhovka in Russia’s Kherson Region after a Ukrainian strike seriously damaged the local major hydroelectric dam, local authorities said on Tuesday» Russia Today reported.
Speaking to reporters, Vladimir Leontyev, the head of the local administration, said the attack on Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam could result in the water level rising by as much as 12 meters, but that it is projected to return to normal within three days. “However, we have to survive these 72 hours,” he said.
He also said that local authorities have started to evacuate residents from riverside settlements, including the towns of Korsunska and Dniepriany as well as adjacent territories, with some 300 buildings being vacated.
Andrey Alekseenko, the chair of Kherson Region’s administration, said that in total 14 settlements with a combined population of 22,000 people could be flooded.
According to local officials, the key infrastructure was “destroyed as a result of a strike” by Ukrainian forces, which was described by Leontyev as a major “terrorist act.” Local emergency services said that 14 out of 28 of the dam’s spans had already collapsed, with more expected to follow suit.
Peskov: “Ukrainian sabotage for the failed counter-offensive in Donbass”
Depriving Crimea of water would be “one of the objectives” of Ukraine’s act of “sabotage” at the Novaya Kakhovka dam, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
“The water level in the reservoir is falling and, consequently, the water supply to the canal is greatly reduced,” he stressed, referring to the canal that carries water from the dam to the peninsula annexed by the Russian Federation in 2014.
“The president receives reports through the Defense Ministry and other services on what is happening around the Kakhovka HPP. Here we can already say unequivocally that this is deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side,” the Kremlin spokesman told reporters.
“Apparently, this sabotage is also due to the fact that, having launched large-scale offensive operations two days ago, the Ukrainian armed forces have been unable to achieve their aims. Their operations are stalled,” the spokesman said.
According to Peskov, “this sabotage has the potential to cause very serious consequences for tens of thousands of the region’s residents, environmental consequences and consequences of another nature that are yet to be established”.
The Lies of the Neo-Nazi Terrorists of Kiev & NATO
However, Ukrainian officials have denied responsibility, with Mikhail Podoliak, a top adviser to President Vladimir Zelensky, placing the blame on Moscow and accusing it of creating “the biggest environmental disaster in Europe in decades”.
Kiev’s statements are credible only to the mainstream media of NATO countries that have cooperated with Zelensky in carrying out previous sabotages such as the Kerch bridge connecting Russia to Crimea, the Nord Stream gas pipelines and various prominent figures of Russian culture.
This is in line with the terror strategy of which the Anglo-Saxon Five-Eyes intelligence alliance is the unsurpassed master as we highlighted in a previous investigation.
Indeed, Moscow would have no reason to endanger the majority pro-Russian population of Kherson who voted to join the Russian Federation.
Also, if Russian President Vladimir Putin hadn’t had civilian damage control done by now, the Ukrainian capital would have already been devastated by hundreds of old-made missiles that lack the slightest accuracy.
Unlike Ukraine, which has targeted “residential buildings” in Russia’s Belgorod region, Moscow is only hitting military targets, such as munitions depots or fuel depots, with “high-precision” weapons, Putin said. in a recent statement.
Kakhovka HPP continues to collapse, water is discharged uncontrollably
The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant continues to collapse at the moment, water is being discharged uncontrollably, Novaya Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontyev said on Tuesday.
“At the moment the Kakhovka HPP <…> continues to collapse, water is being discharged uncontrollably,” he said during a Channel One TV broadcast.
«Ukrainian forces shelled the Kakhovka HPP in the early morning hours on Tuesday, presumably using missiles fired from an Vilkha multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). Slide gate valves on the plant’s dam collapsed as a result of the shelling, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water» TASS Russian News Agency reported.
Oil leaks into Dnieper River
At least 150 metric tons of oil leaked into the Dnieper River’s waters as a result of the Kakhovka hydropower plant dam rupture, according to information posted on the website of the Ukrainian president.
“Members of NSDC [the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine – TASS] were informed that at least 150 metric tons of engine oil spilled into the Dnieper and there is a risk of a further leak of more than 300 metric tons,” the release reads.
Kakhovka HPP destruction causes gigantic damage to environment
«There are currently 14 settlements in the flooded area, and a total of about 80 villages may be inundated. Residents of nearby settlements are being evacuated, though authorities have said no large-scale evacuations are necessary» according to TASS Russian News Agency.
The collapse of the plant’s dam has caused serious environmental damage. Agricultural fields along the Dnieper River have been washed away, and there is a risk that the North Crimean Canal will become shallow.
The destruction of the Kakhovka hydropower plant (HPP) caused by Kiev’s shelling inflicted serious damage on the environment, Novaya Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontyev said on Tuesday.
“Gigantic damage [was caused] both upstream and downstream,” the mayor said.
The Ukrainian military shelled the Kakhovka hydropower plant overnight to June 6 presumably from an Olkha multiple launch rocket system, destroying the hydraulic valves and triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water. Water levels have already exceeded 10 meters in Novaya Kakhovka.
FLOODING NIGHTMARE: Hydroelectric Dam in Kherson partially destroyed (video). Moscow blames Kyiv for the Attack
ARTICLE POSTED ON JUNE, 6, 2023 – 7 AM CET
by Russia Today
The Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam in Russia’s Kherson Region, located on the Dnepr River upstream from the city of Kherson, suffered significant damage on Tuesday morning, according to a local official and several videos shared on social media.
The upper part of the key infrastructure was “destroyed as a result of a strike,” the mayor of Novaya Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontyev, confirmed to RIA Novosti. While several of the dam’s floodgates were damaged and unleashed an uncontrolled stream of water, the underwater structure itself withstood the attack, the official claimed.
As a result of the incident, the water level downstream has risen by up to 2.5 meters, according to Leontyev, who added there was no need for evacuations thus far.
The dam was reportedly struck around 2am local time. A video captured from a drone has circulated on Telegram, purporting to show the aftermath of the attack, with streams of water seen flowing through the breach.
Moscow has repeatedly blamed Kiev for numerous attacks on the Kakhovskaya dam, warning that a breach could cause a disaster and result in the deaths of thousands of civilians.
In turn, Ukraine claimed that Russia had been planning to blow up the dam itself in a false-flag operation aimed at framing Kiev for the flooding.
The persistent threat was cited as one of the main reasons for evacuating civilians from certain communities in the area, and an eventual pullout of Russian forces from the city of Kherson to the left bank of the Dnepr River.
Russian military and civilian officials, including acting Kherson Governor Vladimir Saldo, warned at the time that many areas in the region, including in Kherson city, could be flooded if the Kakhovskaya dam is destroyed.
“Kiev Regime behind Terrorist Drones attack on Moscow”. Russian Defense Ministry stated. (footages)
Kherson Region was officially declared part of Russia in early October, together with Zaporozhye Region and the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, after people in those territories overwhelmingly supported the move during referendums. Kiev and its Western backers have labeled the votes a “sham” and vowed to recapture the territories using any mean necessary.
Kiev indeed considered blowing up the dam to paralyze Moscow’s forces who were defending the city of Kherson – and even “conducted a test strike with a HIMARS launcher on one of the floodgates”– a former head of Ukraine’s Operational Command South, Major General Andrey Kovalchuk, admitted in an interview with the Washington Post in December.
Originally published by Russia Today
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