Russians blew up Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant because they lost their nerve waiting for counteroffensive

The Russian invaders have lost their nerve while waiting for the counteroffensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to start, so they blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, hoping to stop it. Source: Nataliia Humeniuk, head of the press centre of Operational Command Pivden (South), on Radio Liberty Quote from Humeniuk: "They [the Russians - ed.] decided that they would be able to stop the Ukrainian counteroffensive in this way.

They are so tired of waiting to see from which front it will come [the counteroffensive - ed.] that any activity by the Defence Forces, including the intensification of counter-battery work, has led to them losing their nerve, and they are trying to increase the water surface area so that the Ukrainian Defence Forces will not resort to a forced crossing." Details: Humeniuk said the occupiers no longer feel safe on the left bank of the Dnipro River. "They realise that there are no safe locations for them on the left bank. And that is why they are acting on the principle of 'Apres moi, le deluge (After me, the flood)', if you'll pardon the pun," she added.

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Humeniuk said that after the blowing up of the hydroelectric power plant, the Russian occupiers' firing positions will move significantly.

"Because of this high water, they have to move as far away from the left bank as possible. This means that it will be a little easier for the residents of Kherson on the right bank in terms of shelling," the spokeswoman for the Southern Ukrainian Defence Forces stressed.

Read also: Flooded South: the consequences of blowing up the Kakhovka dam (in brief)

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Background

  • On 6 June 2023, the Russian occupiers blew up a dam at the Kakhovka Reservoir at about 02:30. 
  • Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of Kherson Oblast Military Administration, has said that the evacuation of local residents from dangerous areas has begun.

    According to Prokudin, the water will reach a critical level in five hours.

  • Police noted that the potential flood zone on the right bank of the Dnipro River includes the villages of Mykolaivka, Olhivka, Lvove, Tiahynka, Poniativka, Ivanivka, Tokarivka, Prydniprovske, Sadove and part of the city of Kherson - Korabel Island. 
  • The electricity supply was cut off in the Korabel microdistrict in Kherson due to flooding caused by the blowing up of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) by the Russian invaders.

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