Prevent attack at Cherson?
Dam blast could follow “diabolical calculation”.
06/06/2023 11:32 am
Both Ukraine and Russia blame each other for blowing up the Kakhovka Dam. So far it is unclear who is behind it. One theory is that Russia is trying to stop amphibious assaults by the Ukrainians, military expert Reisner tells ntv.de.
After the Kakhovka dam was blown up, large parts of Cherson were flooded. According to military expert Markus Reisner, the dam breach could have a military background. The day before there were rumors of Ukrainian landing attempts south of Cherson, Colonel Reisner told ntv.de. This would explain the blowing up of the dam from the Russian point of view.
Moscow could try to make the Dnipro estuary and the area south of Cherson unusable for military operations by massive flooding. This prevents an extensive military landing by the Ukrainians, who apparently tried to advance in small groups amphibiously – i.e. from the water – in the south of Cherson. In order to prevent this, “one accepts widespread destruction and casualties with diabolical calculations,” says Reisner.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s head of administration also blames Russia for the attack. The dam’s destruction is an attempt by Moscow to up the ante in its full-scale invasion and to stoke fears of a nuclear catastrophe. Russia obviously aims to create insurmountable obstacles for the planned major Ukrainian offensive, Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter. This is an attempt to delay the end of the war and a premeditated crime.
“All life is being destroyed on a vast territory,” wrote Podoliak. “Many towns will be destroyed; enormous damage will be done to the environment.” The area is mostly occupied by Russian troops, so they would also control the power plant and thus the level in the reservoir. The regional capital of Kherson is under Ukrainian control. According to Podoljak, the demolition of the hydroelectric power station was carried out by the 205th rifle unit of the Russian army.
Moscow, in turn, blamed Kiev. The flooding would also have serious repercussions for the Russians, military expert Michael Kofman said on the War on the Rocks podcast last month. The blowing up of the dam would flood the Russian-held side of Kherson far more severely than the Ukrainian side. “Destroying the dam would mean that Russia would basically shoot itself in the foot,” Kofman said.