In the Cherson region, Putin’s troops are coming under increasing pressure and are about to retreat. Now the rumor is being spread from the Russian side that Ukraine wants to blow up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. A Ukrainian military expert explains what’s behind it.
Russia’s troops in the Cherson region are under increasing pressure. A withdrawal of the armed forces by Commander-in-Chief Sergei Surovikin is said to be imminent. “I think, in principle, the Surovikin understands that the right bank (of the Dnipro River, editor’s note) cannot be held. You can no longer properly supply the troops there,” says retired lieutenant colonel Oleksij Melnyk in an interview with “ntv”.
One of the reasons for this is the destruction or at least severe damage to all bridges over the Dnipro River by Ukrainian troops. Russia would most likely have to rely heavily on a temporary barge bridge recently completed near Kherson and military pontoon ferries to withdraw, British intelligence estimates.
The military expert sees a danger in rumors spread by the Russian side. “But what worries me is that Surovikin and others are saying that the Ukrainians intend to blow up the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.”
This means the hydroelectric power plant of the Ukrainian energy company Ukrhidroenerho near Nowa Kakhovka, above Cherson, on the Dnipro. This consists of a series of gravity dams with a bulk material dam that is almost 3000 meters long. The T-47 territorial road, an important link between the two banks of the Dnipro, runs across the dam and the dam.
If the dam were blown up, there would be a flood from the Kachowka reservoir, which holds 18.2 billion cubic meters of water. “Of course, the Ukrainians have no interest in that at all, that’s clear to everyone,” explains Melnyk in the “ntv” interview. “But then Russia would have achieved a buffer zone for itself, so that the forces can withdraw in an orderly manner and the Ukrainian offensive then stumbles.”
Besides an easier retreat, Russia could also spread propaganda with such drama. “Moscow could use it for propaganda purposes if it claims that Ukraine subjected its own citizens to a flood,” warns Melnyk. “We are talking about a humanitarian and technological catastrophe for the entire region.”
However, the former lieutenant colonel does not believe that nuclear weapons will be used in the Cherson district. “Neither militarily nor politically will that do anything for the Russians there. If they really use such weapons in Ukraine, it probably won’t happen in Kherson district.”
