BERISLAV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia had the means, motive and opportunity to bring down a Ukrainian dam that collapsed earlier this month while under Russian…
In the region around the dam, the Dnieper River forms the front line between Russian and Ukrainian forces, with Russian ones in control of the dam itself.
In recent weeks, Ukraine’s armed forces have reported limited gains in the beginnings of a counteroffensive to take back territory seized by the Russians since their invasion in February 2022. Kakhovka is one of a series of Soviet-era dams along the Dnieper River that were built to withstand enormous force, amounting to thousands of pounds of explosives. They were constructed in the wake of the infamous World War II “Dambusters” raids that destroyed German dams. Taking out the Möhne dam in 1943, for instance, required five 4.5-ton, specially made “bouncing bombs,” according to the Imperial War Museum archives.
Zelinskyi, who is not related to the Ukrainian president, confirmed that the explosion seemed to come from the area where the machine room is located. He and an American official familiar with the intelligence both confirmed that Russian forces had been ensconced there for some time. The American spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material.
The photos, taken from Ukrainian drone footage, obtained by the AP and dated May 28, showed a car parked on the dam, its roof neatly cut open to reveal enormous barrels, one with what appears to be a land mine attached to the lid and a cable running toward the Russian-held side of the river. It’s not clear how long the car remained.
“That means it’s a significant explosion,” said Anne Strømmen Lycke, CEO of the Norwegian earthquake monitoring agency NORSAR.
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