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Evidence is mounting that the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine exploded before and after it collapsed, according to Ukrainian and U.S. intelligence reports and seismic data from Norway.
Ukraine’s security service said it had intercepted a phone call proving that Russian “sabotage groups” blew up the Kakhovka hydropower station and dam in the Kherson region earlier Tuesday.
Also read: Nova Kakhovka Dam Collapse: Blame Game, Relief Aid, Nuclear Power Plant Impact | 5 Points
Norwegian research foundation Norsar said data collected from regional seismic stations showed clear signs of an explosion.
The New York Times quoted a U.S. official as saying that U.S. spy satellites had detected the explosion at the dam.
The destruction of the facility — which has been in Russian hands since shortly after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 — triggered massive flooding early Tuesday, forcing thousands of residents to flee and causing environmental damage.
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) posted a minute-and-a-half audio clip on its Telegram channel of two men who appeared to be discussing the aftermath of the disaster in Russian.
Reuters could not independently verify the recording.
Russia blamed Kiev for destroying the dam. Russia’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on the SBU statement.
Also read: Russia, Ukraine in war of words at UN over Nova Kahovka dam breach | Watch the standoff
“They (Ukrainians) didn’t attack it. That was our sabotage group,” said a man in the recording, described by the SBU as a Russian soldier. “They want to scare (people) with that dam.”
“It didn’t go as planned, and (they were) more than they planned.”
The man also said “thousands” of animals were killed at a “safari park” downstream.
Another person on the phone expressed surprise at the soldier’s claim that Russian troops destroyed the dam.
The SBU did not provide further details on the conversation or its participants. It said it had opened a criminal investigation into war crimes and “ecocide”.
“The SBU intercept confirmed that the Kakhovskaya HPP (hydroelectric power plant) was blown up by sabotage groups of the occupiers,” the SBU said in a statement. A disaster.”
Satellites equipped with infrared sensors detected heat signatures consistent with a big bang, the U.S. official said.
Norsar said in a statement that data from an earthquake
Activity at a station in Romania at 02:54 a.m. local time on Tuesday, indicating an explosion, coincided with media reports that the dam had collapsed.
Along with the power station, the dam helps provide electricity, irrigation and drinking water to southern Ukraine, including Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.
According to media reports, the water level in the reservoir was high before the explosion.
Hundreds of Ukrainians were pulled from rooftops in flooded areas this week. The governor of the southern region of Kherson said about 600 square kilometers, or 230 square miles, were under water.
“By blowing up the Kakhovskaya HPP dam, the Russian Federation has clearly demonstrated that it poses a threat to the entire civilized world,” SBU head Vasyl Malyuk said in a statement.
“Our task is not only to bring to justice the leaders of (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s regime, but also ordinary perpetrators,” he said.
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