According to a US newspaper, Russia knew the dam’s weak point.
According to Ukraine, so far 16 people have been confirmed dead in the floods following the destruction of the Kahovka dam.
According to the US newspaper New York Times, it is clear in light of the evidence that Russia blew up the Kahovka dam and thus caused the devastating floods in southern Ukraine at the beginning of the month.
In its extensive article published on Friday, the newspaper wrote that it had reviewed several pieces of evidence, all of which it said pointed to Russia being to blame for the dam failure that caused the devastating flood.
NYT said, among other things, that it had studied the original plans of the dam, interviewed the engineers who investigated the damage to the dam, and looked at satellite images and seismic observations of explosions.
According to the newspaper, on the day of the dam’s collapse, June 6, seismic sensors in Ukraine and Romania detected signs of large explosions before three in the morning. In addition, right before the dam collapsed, US intelligence satellites detected infrared heat signals, which also indicated an explosion, according to the newspaper. At the same time, explosions were also heard in the area, NYT wrote.
Russia has blamed the destruction on Ukrainian artillery fire, but has not provided any evidence.
NOW: Russia knew the weak point of the dam
According to two American engineers interviewed by the magazine and a Ukrainian engineer who knows the dam well, the “by far the most likely cause” of the dam’s collapse was the explosives that were placed in the dam’s maintenance corridor or gallery, where it would not have been possible for Ukraine to reach – unlike Russia, which had the dam in its possession. According to the newspaper, access to the corridor was from the engine room of the dam.
According to the New York Times, Russia also knew where the dam’s weak point was because the dam was built during the Soviet Union and had all the blueprints.
On Saturday, Ukraine updated the number of victims of floods caused by the collapse of a dam in southern Ukraine. According to it, so far 16 people have been confirmed dead in the floods and 31 people are missing. In addition, thousands of people have had to evacuate, and according to Ukraine, a million people are at risk of water shortage, reported the Ukrainian website Kyiv Independent. According to Russia, 29 people have died in the floods in the areas under its control.
STT