On 14 June 2023, members of the European Parliament (MEPs) blamed Russia for the Nova Kakhovka dam destruction and stated that Russia must be held accountable for this war crime.
“MEPs denounced the destruction of Ukraine’s Nova Kakhovka dam, the latest war crime committed by Russia and one that must be met with consequences,” the official statement on the website of the European Parliament noted.
MEPs called for the EU to continue its strong support for Ukraine, for new sanctions against Russia, and for “the billions of frozen assets by Russian oligarchs to be used to reconstruct Ukraine.”
Apart from that, MEPs outlined their expectations for the 29-30 June EU summit in light of recent events in Ukraine and progress towards concluding the EU’s Migration Pact.
The Kahovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP) in southern Ukraine experienced significant destruction on 6 June, causing widespread flooding, mass evacuation of civilians, military setbacks, and raising disputes regarding the future implications.
According to Ukrainian Intelligence, the detonation of the dam happened at 2:30 AM on 6 June. Russia conducted primary mining operations immediately after seizing Kakhovka HPP in February-March 2022. In April 2022, Russia carried out additional mining of the locks and supports and placed trucks with explosives on the dam itself, according to Ukraine’s Intelligence.
The destruction of the Kakhovka HPP and the spill of its reservoir will cause severe water supply problems in four Ukrainian oblasts in the near future. The affected areas are the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, and Mykolayiv oblasts. Furthermore, Crimea will not receive any water for at least a year.
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