Zelenskyy said in October his government had information that Russia had mined the dam and power plant.īut Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called it “a deliberate act of sabotage by the Ukrainian side … aimed at cutting water supplies to Crimea.”īoth sides warned of a looming environmental disaster. (2350 GMT Monday) and said about 80 settlements were in danger. He alleged Russian forces set off a blast inside the dam structure at 2:50 a.m. Satellite images showed water washing over damaged sluice gates.Īmid official outrage, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he convened an urgent meeting of the National Security Council. After heavy rains and snow melt last month, water levels rose beyond normal levels, flooding nearby villages. David Helms, a retired American scientist who has monitored the reservoir since the start of the war, wrote in an e-mail that it wasn’t clear if the damage was deliberate or simple neglect from Russian forces occupying the facility.īut Helms reserved judgement, noting as well a Russian history of attacking dams.Īuthorities, experts and residents have expressed concern for months about water flows through - and over - the Kakhovka dam. The question we should pose is why the Ukrainians would do this to themselves, given this is Ukrainian territory,” she said.Įxperts have previously said the dam structure was suffering from disrepair. “There were reports (last fall) of Russians having mined the reservoir. Patricia Lewis, director of the International Security Program at Chatham House think tank in London, said apportioning blame is difficult but “there are all sorts of reasons why Russia would do this.” The damage could also hinder Ukraine’s counteroffensive in the south and distract its government, while at the same time Russia depends on the dam to supply water to Crimea. It was not immediately clear whether either side benefits from the damage to the dam, since both Russian-controlled and Ukrainian-held lands are at risk of flooding. Ukrainian forces were widely seen to be moving forward with a long-anticipated counteroffensive in patches along more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) of frontline in the east and south of Ukraine. The dam break added a stunning new dimension to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, now in its 16th month. Neither side reported any deaths or injuries. About 22,000 people live in areas at risk of flooding in Russian-controlled areas, while 16,000 live in the most critical zone in Ukrainian-held territory, according to official tallies. The potentially far-reaching environmental and social consequences of the disaster quickly became clear as homes, streets and businesses flooded downstream and emergency crews began evacuations officials raced to check cooling systems at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and authorities expressed concern about supplies of drinking water to the south in Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014.īoth Russian and Ukrainian authorities brought in trains and buses for residents. It was not possible to verify the claims. "The document is not just unconfirmed: It includes some clear errors," the statement said, citing a misspelling of the name of Russian investment company Alfa Group.Ukraine accused Russian forces of blowing up the Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station on the Dnieper River in an area that Moscow controls, while Russian officials blamed Ukrainian bombardment in the contested area. Tuesday's allegations include that Page implied that a President Trump would lift sanctions on Russia imposed by the Obama administration as relations weakened during the crisis in Ukraine and Crimea.īuzzFeed said in a statement that it released the documents "so that Americans can make up their own minds about allegations about the President-elect that have circulated at the highest levels of the U.S. intelligence was investigating a meeting between Page and Igor Sechin, the head of Russian oil company Rosneft. Yahoo News had previously reported that U.S.
#fakenews."Ĭohen told the Atlantic, "The story is completely inaccurate, it is fake news meant to malign Mr. Cohen, who is alleged to have had a meeting in the Czech Republic with Kremlin officials, posted a picture of his passport on Tuesday night and said, "I have never been to Prague in my life.
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