According to Emil Kastehelme and Markku Kangaspuro, who visited in the morning, Ukraine’s possible attacks in the Donetsk region are not of great importance in terms of the front line.
The dam of the Nova Kahovka hydropower plant in the Kherson region of Ukraine has exploded. The southern military administration of Ukraine says on its Facebook page that the Russians blew up the dam. Russia blames Ukraine for the explosion.
The governor of the region Oleksandr Prokudinin according to the evacuation measures have been started. It is believed that the water will rise to a critical level by Tuesday afternoon.
The dam built on the Dnieper River in 1956 is 30 meters high and more than three kilometers long. With the help of the Kahovka power plant dam, water is also produced for the Crimea region and the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
– According to current information, destruction has occurred. It affects both parties in the Kherson region. It is partly possible to flood the Russian positions, but on the other hand it makes it difficult for the Ukrainians to cross the river. In a certain way, there are certain challenges, but also opportunities for both sides, an expert on the war in Ukraine who visited in the morning Emil Kastehelmi says.
The mayor of the Russian occupation regime, Nova Kahovkassa, says in the state media that the dam has suffered damage as a result of a “terrorist attack”.
– If this is the actions of the Russians, then it is about building a defense line. The pressure here is on Ukraine’s side, says the director of the Alexander Institute Markku Kangaspuro.
Claims of destroyed Leopard tanks
Russia announced on the night between Monday and Tuesday that it had once again prevented a major Ukrainian attack in the Donetsk region. The Russian Ministry of Defense claims that Ukraine suffered significant losses in Donetsk.
Russia claims to have destroyed 28 tanks, eight of which would have been Leopard tanks. However, according to Kastehelmi, no credible evidence has been obtained about the destroyed Leopards, at least not yet.
– It is known that small-scale offensive operations have taken place in several areas. The most central has been the area of Velika Novosilka. There have been several battalions attacking both sides of the city, says Kastehelmi.
According to Kastehelmi, Ukraine has suffered some losses, but possibly liberated a few villages.
– At the most, we are talking about advancing a few kilometers from Ukraine, not about deep breakthroughs that would significantly affect the general situation on the front.
Kangaspuro points out that this kind of coverage will be seen.
– Ukraine has deep radio silence, while Russia’s interest is to emphasize how successfully they repel the operation started by Ukraine. These are fragmentary pictures of the whole of the war. What the final result will be is a big question mark. On the basis of individual battles, very big conclusions cannot be drawn, says Kangaspuro.
Reuters, which reported on Russia’s claims, has not been able to independently verify Russia’s claims. Ukraine has rejected claims that it launched a counterattack against Russia.