Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s chief of staff says he ‘does not understand’ how there are any doubts that Russian forces blew up the dam. In a statement, Andriy Yermak said: “At 2.50am, Russian troops blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric station and its dam. I do not understand how there can be any doubt about this. Both constructions are located in the temporary Russian-occupied territories. Neither shelling nor any other external influence was capable of destroying the structures. The explosion came from within.”
The Kremlin accuses Ukraine of deliberately sabotaging the dam. Dmitry Peskov, the Kremlin’s spokesperson, told reporters: “We can state unequivocally that we are talking about deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side.” He said [Russian president] Vladimir Putin had been briefed on the situation.
The US “cannot say conclusively” who was responsible. National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters at the White House: “We’re doing the best we can to assess”, noting “destruction of civilian infrastructure is not allowed by the laws of war”. Earlier Tuesday, NBC News reported that the US government had intelligence indicating Russia was behind the incident, according to two US officials and one western official.
