NYT: Satellites detected explosion at Kakhovka dam shortly before collapse.

U.S. spy satellites detected an explosion at the Kakhovka dam just before it collapsed on June 6, the New York Times (NYT) wrote[1] on June 9, citing a senior U.S. official. According to the NYT, the satellites, equipped with infrared sensors, detected a heat signature consistent with a major explosion. The official said that, while there is no solid evidence about who is responsible for the destruction, U.S. intelligence analysts suspect Russia.

Experts interviewed[2] by the NYT on June 7 presented an enclosed internal blast as the most plausible explanation for the dam's breach. Ukraine's authorities reported shortly after the explosion[3] on June 6 that Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka hydropower plant. An alleged call between Russian soldiers intercepted[4] by Ukrainian intelligence services on June 9 supposedly confirms Moscow's complicity.

The U.S. government has so far refused[5] to say conclusively who is responsible for the Kakhovka disaster but asserted that Russia ultimately bears blame as it was in control of the dam.

Satellite images show massive flooding of Ukraine's south Satellite images shared by Planet Labs show the massive extent of the damage caused by the breach of the Kakhovka dam on June 6.

[6] Martin Fornusek

News Editor

Martin Fornusek is a news editor at the Kyiv Independent. He has previously worked as a news content editor at the media company Newsmatics and is a contributor to Euromaidan Press.

He also volunteers as an editor and translator at the Czech-language version of Ukrainer.

Martin studied at Masaryk University in Brno, Czechia, holding a bachelor's degree in security studies and history and a master's degree in conflict and democracy studies.

References

  1. ^ wrote (www.nytimes.com)
  2. ^ interviewed (kyivindependent.com)
  3. ^ explosion (kyivindependent.com)
  4. ^ intercepted (kyivindependent.com)
  5. ^ refused (kyivindependent.com)
  6. ^ Satellite images show massive flooding of Ukraine's southSatellite images shared by Planet Labs show the massive extent of the damage caused by the breach of the Kakhovka dam on June 6. (kyivindependent.com)

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