In all probability, Russians blew up Nova Kakhovka dam, but blame game on

The “evidence, reasoning and rhetoric” suggests that the Russians deliberately blasted the Nova Kakhovka dam on Tuesday, Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its assessment report. “ISW cannot offer a definitive assessment of responsibility for the June 6 incident at this time but finds that the balance of evidence, reasoning, and rhetoric suggests that the Russians deliberately damaged the dam,” the assessment report read. Russia, Ukraine blame game Damage to the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (KHPP) dam caused massive flooding of Dnipro River delta, river wetlands, estuaries and shoreline settlements in Kherson Oblast. Thousands of people have been evacuated downstream of the dam that collapsed in Russian-held Ukraine. The surging water level at Dnipro river has posed a catastrophic flooding risk in Kherson. Both Russia and Ukraine have been blaming each other for the dam collapse that provided water to farmers and residents, as well as to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant. Meanwhile, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Ukrainian officials said the drop in level of water at the Kakhovka Reservoir will likely not affect the safety of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). As per ISW assessment report, Ukrainian officials stated that Russian forces “intentionally” destroyed the dam and suggested that the Russian military did not prepare for subsequent flooding. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the only way to destroy the dam was through mining and emphasised that Russian forces have now occupied the dam for over a year. Ukraine’s claims The Ukrainian Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) alleged that the Russian forces mined the dam shortly after its capture early in the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and later planted additional mines on the locks and supports of it in April 2022. Ukhrhydroenergo alleged that the KHPP dam was destroyed by the Russian forces by detonating an explosive within its engine room. Other Ukrainian officials blamed Russia of intentionally destroying the dam out of concerns about potential Ukrainian advances and counterattacks. Russia’s allegations Russia, on the other hand, accused Ukrainian forces of destroying the KHPP dam. Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov claimed that Ukrainian forces conducted a sabotage attack at the KHPP dam because “Ukrainian armed forces are not achieving their goals” in large-scale offensive operations. Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claimed that Ukrainian forces intend to send forces from the Kherson direction to support “failing” offensive operations elsewhere and thus, destroyed the dam to disrupt Russian forces’ ability to take advantage of weakened Ukrainian defences on the west (right) bank of Kherson Oblast. With inputs from agencies Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.