Official: Russia moves troops from Kherson Oblast to other directions after Kakhovka dam disaster.

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported[1] on June 11 that Russia had redeployed its elite troops from Kherson Oblast to other directions after the June 6 Kakhovka dam[2] disaster. Maliar said Russian marines, airborne troops, and 49th Army units had been redeployed to the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut directions. By blowing up the Kakhovka dam, the Russian leadership aimed to prevent a Ukrainian counteroffensive[3] in adjacent areas, Maliar said in a Telegram post.

President Volodymyr Zelensky said[4] on June 6 that the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's dam would not prevent the liberation of Russian-occupied territories. The collapse of the Russian-occupied Kakhovka dam on June 6 sparked a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine. Meanwhile, dozens of settlements on both banks of the Dnipro River are flooded.

The Ukrainian authorities say that Russian forces intentionally destroyed the Kakhovka hydropower plant. An alleged call between Russian soldiers intercepted[5] by Ukraine's intelligence services on June 9 supposedly confirms Moscow's complicity. The U.S. government has so far refused[6] 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.

Read also: This Week in Ukraine Ep.

11 - Russia's destruction of Ukrainian dam, and catastrophic flood it caused[7]

Reporter

Alexander Khrebet is a reporter with the Kyiv Independent. He covers Ukraine's foreign policy, alleged abuse of power in the country's military leadership, and reports on the Russian-occupied territories. Alexander is the #AllForJan Award 2023 co-winner and Ukraine's 2022 National Investigative Journalism Award finalist.

He was published in the Washington Times and Atlantic Council.

References

1. ^ reported (t.me)
2. ^ Kakhovka dam (kyivindependent.com)
3. ^ a Ukrainian counteroffensive (kyivindependent.com)
4. ^ said (kyivindependent.com)
5. ^ intercepted (kyivindependent.com)
6. ^ refused (kyivindependent.com)
7. ^ This Week in Ukraine Ep.

   11 - Russia's destruction of Ukrainian dam, and catastrophic flood it caused (kyivindependent.com)