A new start to hostilities? Dam blown up in Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka

The Ukraine government has accused Russia of blowing up a dam in Nova Kakhovka on the Dnieper River. The consequence of this is going to be flooding of the areas downstream the dam and authorities have already began evacuating population from dangerous areas.

“The Kakhovka (reservoir) was blown up by the Russian occupying forces” the South command of Ukraine’s Armed Forces said on its Facebook page. “The scale of the destruction, the speed and volumes of water, and the likely areas of inundation are being determined. All services are working. The situation is being monitored” the post further said

“The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said. “Not a single meter should be left to them, because they use every meter for terror,” he added. “It’s only Ukraine’s victory that will return security. And this victory will come. The terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else.”

The mayor of the neighbouring town of Nova Kakhovka has said that the dam has been shelled in a serious terrorist act.

Russia authorities have blamed the collapse on Ukrainian shelling

Interfax news agency quoted an unnamed official from the Kherson emergency services as saying that the dam had collapsed from structural weakness under water pressure.

The dam also provides water to the Crimean peninsula. Notably, Crimea was annexed by Russia in 2014.

The Russian-Ukrainian conflict has been going on for a long time, beginning in 2014 with the covert invasion of Crimea by disguised Russian troops and then expanded with Russian proxy forces seizing the Donbas region.

The most recent Russia-Ukraine war started in February 2022 when Russia launched a full scale invasion of Ukraine.