The Kakhovka hydroelectric dam, on the Dnieper River, in the Kherson region (South), was partially destroyed on Tuesday, June 6, by an explosion, while Ukraine is currently carrying out numerous attacks on Russian territory.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Russia considered that the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, occupied by Moscow, was not threatened, Ukraine asserting on the contrary the existence of a growing risk of disaster. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he was outraged by the attack which “demonstrates once again the brutality of the war waged by Russia”.
The Kremlin denounced an act of “deliberate sabotage” by kyiv. While Ukraine on Tuesday called Russia a “terrorist state” before the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
Flooded villages
24 localities were flooded on Tuesday after the attack on the night of the Kakhovka dam, said Ukrainian Interior Minister Igor Klymenko, according to whom “about a thousand” civilians were evacuated from the area.
“About 16,000 people are in the critical zone,” said Oleksandre Prokudin, head of the Kherson region military administration, on social media.
The Ukrainian presidency accused Russia on Tuesday morning of having “blown up” the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in the Kherson region (south) overnight to flood the area and curb the Ukrainian offensive in preparation.
© / AFP
Concerns around the Zaporizhia power plant
The IAEA experts, present on the site, “closely monitor the situation”, added the UN body in a tweet, while the plant uses water from the river to cool the fuel of the reactor cores.
An opinion that is not shared by Ukraine. “The world is once again on the verge of a nuclear disaster, because the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant has lost its cooling source. And this danger is now increasing rapidly,” lamented Mykhaylo Podoliak, an adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, in a message to reporters.
For its part, Russia assures that “at the moment there is no threat to the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant. Five blocks are stopped cold, one is stopped hot’. The water level of the cooling pond has not changed”, indicated on Telegram the director, installed by the Russian occupation.
Zelensky: “The world must react”
“The world must react,” launched Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, following the partial destruction of the Kakhovka dam, which kyiv blames on Moscow.
“Russia is at war against life, against nature, against civilization,” he snarled on Telegram, accusing the Russians of “mining” the dam before “exploding” it.
“Russia detonated a bomb, causing massive environmental damage,” said Volodymyr Zelensky, in a videoconference speech to the “Nine from Bucharest”, an organization bringing together nine countries from central and eastern Europe who are members of NATO. according to a video shared by his services. “This is the biggest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades,” he continued, with the partial destruction of the Kakhovka dam raising fears of significant effects on wildlife and wildlife. flora of this southern part of Ukraine.
Lots of engine oil
“150 tonnes of engine oil” spilled into the Dnieper River on Tuesday following the destruction of the hydroelectric dam, Ukrainian officials said, warning of an environmental risk.
“There is also a risk of new oil leaks, which has a negative impact on the environment,” Daria Zarivna, press adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriï Iermak, lambasted on Telegram. On Telegram, Andriï Iermak denounced him “ecocide” – a crime against the environment – on the part of Russia.
“Russia has no right of veto” on Ukraine’s NATO membership
Russia “has no right of veto” over Ukraine’s NATO membership, the NATO secretary general said on Tuesday in Bratislava. “All the allies agree that the door to NATO remains open, that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance and that Russia has no right of veto”, declared Jens Stoltenberg.
In Bratislava, the head of NATO is taking part in talks with the presidents of the nine countries on the eastern flank of the Atlantic Alliance, the group of “Nine from Bucharest”.
Zelensky thanks his troops for territorial gains
A few hours earlier, the Ukrainian president thanked his troops for the territorial gains they claimed, ironically over the “hysterical” reaction from Moscow. “We see how hysterically Russia reacts to all the advances we make in this sector, to all the positions we take. The enemy knows that Ukraine will win,” Volodymyr Zelensky said in a message. video.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak previously quipped on Twitter that Russia is “busy repelling a global offensive that does not yet exist”. “Why are the Russians actively publishing information about a counter-offensive? Because they need to divert attention (about) the defeat in the direction of Bakhmout,” the deputy minister said. Ukrainian Defense, Ganna Maliar, on Telegram.
Russia claims to have killed 1,500 Ukrainian soldiers, Prigojine quips
The Russian Ministry of Defense meanwhile claimed to have countered since the morning of June 4 attacks on five sectors of the front “in the southern direction of the Donetsk region”, located in the east. Separately, he claimed that his forces had killed “more than 1,500 Ukrainian servicemen” and destroyed “28 tanks”. A statement derided by the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Evgueni Prigojine, accustomed to virulent criticism of the general staff.
“These are just rantings,” Evgueni Prigojine commented in a message on Telegram. Killing 1,500 soldiers in one day is “one hell of a massacre”, he quipped, mocking Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov. “In fact, why not add up all the numbers given by Konashenkov. I think we have already destroyed the whole planet Earth five times,” he quipped.
kyiv and Moscow find themselves before international justice
Ukraine and Russia meet on Tuesday June 6 before the highest court of the UN, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Kiev accuses Moscow of supporting separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine for years before the full-scale Russian invasion began last year, supplying them with weapons and money. Ukraine alleges Russia violated UN conventions on terrorist financing and racial discrimination, and seeks compensation for attacks by separatist rebels. The conflict with pro-Russian separatists has claimed nearly 13,000 lives since its outbreak in early 2014, a month after the ousting of pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych followed by Moscow’s annexation of the Crimean peninsula.
kyiv and Moscow will present their arguments in the coming days, before being able to respond to them on June 12 and 14 respectively. Since this case was brought by Ukraine in 2017, kyiv has filed another petition, following the February 2022 Russian invasion, accusing Moscow of planning genocide. The ICJ in this case ordered Russia to suspend its invasion.