Waters to reach critical levels after destruction of Kakhovka dam

The head of the Kherson region says water is expected to reach ‘critical levels’ in the coming hours, and citizens are evacuating. | The Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was blown on Tuesday, unleashing a flood of water across the war zone, according to both Ukrainian and Russian forces who both blamed each other for destroying the dam. ● Circulating videos on social media showed a series of intense explosions around the Kakhovka dam, and other videos showed water surging through the remains of the dam with bystanders expressing their shock. ● The dam, 30 meters (yards) tall and 3.2 km (2 miles) long, was built in 1956 on the Dnipro River as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. It holds an 18 km3 reservoir which also supplies water to the Crimean peninsula [now part of Russia] and to the Zaporozhye nuclear plant [now also part of Russia. – Cui bono?] ● Ukrainian armed forces were considering flooding the Dneiper River by destroying the Nova Kakhovka dam back in October, confirming the Russian reports that came out about the matter last year, the Washington Post reported in late December.

■ City of Novaya Kakhovka flooded after dam destruction – mayor (RT.com)
■ LIVE UPDATES: Kakhovka HPP Destroyed by Ukrainian Shelling in Kherson Region (Sputnik News)
■ BREAKING NEWS: Nova Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast, BLOWN UP! (Hal Turner Show)
■ Nova Kakhova Dam Breach - Updated (12:15 UTC) (Moon of Alabama)

■ European Council president accuses Russia of war crime (RT.com) | The attack on the Novaya Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in Russia’s Kherson Region qualifies as a war crime, European Council President Charles Michel has claimed. He insisted that Russia was responsible for the incident. ● The power plant, which is located on the Dnieper River upstream from the city of Kherson, suffered significant damage on Tuesday morning. Novaya Kakhovka Mayor Vladimir Leontyev claimed that the upper part of the dam and its floodgates had been destroyed as a result of a series of overnight strikes by Ukrainian forces. The damage has led to the release of an uncontrolled flow of water which now threatens to flood up to 80 settlements in the region, Leontyev said, adding that several areas are without electricity. He also warned of problems with water supplies to the Crimean Peninsula. The mayor described the extent of the destruction at the power plant as “very serious” and cautioned that it could be beyond repair. Efforts to restore it may effectively involve rebuilding it from scratch, he added. Leontyev, who branded the incident a major “terrorist act,” also noted that the facility had repeatedly come under Ukrainian shelling throughout the past year. Kiev’s forces have allegedly targeted the dam’s turbines, only one of which was working at the time of Tuesday’s attack, according to the mayor.