Russia was responsible for dam attack, says TV

US intelligence points out that Russia is behind the destruction of a huge dam in Ukraine, NBC News reported on Tuesday (6).

A torrent of water broke through the huge dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine on Tuesday, flooding a swath of the war zone and forcing villagers to flee. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the New Kakhovka dam, while the Kremlin said it was Ukraine that sabotaged the dam.

According to the NBC report, two intelligence officials from the United States and another from an allied country confirmed that investigations point to Russia as the author of the attack. Authorities were working to release information later on Tuesday.

Questioned on the matter, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby declined and told reporters at the White House that there was no evidence of that. “We are doing the best we can to evaluate.”

Kirby warned that flooding caused by the breach could be catastrophic for local communities and the environment. He added that “the destruction could have a devastating impact on Ukraine’s energy security”, in part because the dam is close to Europe’s biggest nuclear power plant.

UN

Within that narrative, Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs called an urgent meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss what it called the “Russian terrorist attack” on the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine.

The ministry also called in a statement for the board of governors of the UN nuclear agency to discuss the incident and demanded new international sanctions against Russia and, in particular, the Russian missile industry and the nuclear sector.

The Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric plant were the target of an explosion early this Tuesday at local time (Monday night in Brasilia). The site was destroyed, which caused a large body of water to be released, flooding several locations on the banks of the Dnipro River.

The city of Nova Kakhovka, close to the dam and hydroelectric plant, was the first to be hit by the flood. Images show the town being flooded. In front of important public buildings in the city, it was possible to see swans gliding over the water, as if they were on the river.

Operations to evacuate people and animals continue at an accelerated pace, especially as experts estimate that the body of water will grow on Wednesday, resulting in even more destruction. More than 1,000 people have been evacuated from settlements along the southern stretch of the Dnipro River. “We have about 50 buses running between Kherson and the affected villages. In Kherson, we have four evacuation sites prepared,” said Oleksandr Tolokonnikov, a senior official in the Ukrainian military administration in Kherson. On the Russian-controlled side, hundreds of people were also evacuated.

Earlier, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky claimed that there were “about 80 settlements in the flood zone”. He posted the information on Telegram after an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council. He went on to outline the timeline of events before emphasizing that all towns and villages in the region must be supplied with water.

A zoo in Russian-occupied Ukraine was also hit by flooding, which resulted in the deaths of at least 200 animals. According to local representatives, through social networks only ducks and swans managed to save themselves. The head of the park, Olena Navrotska, said she did not know if any other animals, besides birds, survived the torrent of water that invaded the place. The zoo was home to monkeys, raccoons, donkeys, ponies, porcupines, and turtles, as well as other species.

(Posted by Fabio Mendes)

Source: CNN Brasil

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