Could Russians blow up dams on Dnipro River, at Zaporizhzhya NPP and Crimean Titan plant?
Retired Colonel Roman Svitan, a former pilot and instructor in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, discussed during an interview with Radio NV on June 11 the likelihood of the Russians destroying dams on the Dnipro River, and at the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant and the Crimean Titan chemical plant.
His opinion about the danger to the Dnipro
dams upstream of the destroyed Kakhovka dam is reassuring.
“There’s no danger to any dam (in the
Dnipro cascade) where there are no Russians present,” said Svitan.
“It’s practically impossible to destroy any
dam without extensive aerial bombardment and preparation. It’s simply
unrealistic.”
“Dams are constructed to withstand various
forms of attacks, including bombing. Bombers attempting to directly drop bombs
on a dam from above would need to exert tremendous effort to have any chance of
destroying it.”
“Even a sabotage-reconnaissance group,
capable of fully capturing any dam, would not be able to blow it up. To execute
a demolition similar to what occurred at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power
Plant, several tons of special mining explosives would be necessary,” explained
the colonel.
Svitan also said that, unlike the explosion
at the Kakhovka dam, sabotaging the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant would not
provide any advantage to the Russians from a military standpoint.
Moreover, he warned about the extensive
consequences of an explosion at the nuclear plant, stating that “the explosion
would affect (Ukraine’s Russian-occupied) Crimea, Rostov, and Taman. It would
create a massive cloud and blanket the area from Crimea to Sochi. It would bury
it forever. That’s why I don’t think they will take such actions.”
Svitan also said that the destruction of the
Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant would create significant problems for Rosatom,
the entity that has forced “half” of the plant’s employees to sign contracts.
“Any actions taken would immediately pose a
problem for Rosatom, which is responsible for servicing not only a dozen
reactors but is also currently involved in the construction of four reactors in
Turkey and two reactors in Hungary. These projects involve billions of dollars
and cannot be compared to any informational or political motive for detonating
the Zaporizhzhya NPP,” Svitan said.
While acknowledging the possibility of the
occupants detonating the Crimean Titan plant near Armyansk, Svitan highlighted
the presence of acid receivers and containers with reagents and chlorine. He said
an explosion at Crimean Titan could temporarily hinder troops from crossing into
the peninsula, unless they were wearing chemical protection suits.
Explosion at Kakhovka HPP — what is known
Russia’s troops invaded Nova Kakhovka more
than a year ago. On the night of June 6, the dam was blown from the inside.
The water flow from the reservoir, which was close to its highest recorded
water level, has endangered over 80 towns and settlements, including the
regional capital of Kherson, downstream on the Dnipro River.
The left (eastern) bank of the Dnipro River, which is under
Russian occupation, is affected the most.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
ordered an evacuation from the endangered areas and supply of safe
drinking water to people who were supplied with water from the Kakhovka
Reservoir, which is draining away because of the destruction of the dam.
Evacuation from the right bank of Kherson
Oblast continues, even during the night, while a catastrophe unfolds on the
occupied left bank, which has suffered significantly more from the flooding.
The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant was completely destroyed and cannot
be repaired, state hydroelectric company Ukrhydroenergo said soon after the dam
break. The dam wasn’t destroyed completely, but significantly damaged,
the Ukrainian military’s South Operational Command said.
Around 16,000 people on the right (western)
bank of the Dnipro River in Kherson Oblast are in a “critical zone” at
risk of flooding according to the oblast’s governor, Oleksandr Prokudin.
The Prosecutor General’s Office opened an
investigation on the incident under article of the Criminal Code on
ecocide.
President Zelenskyy has called Russia’s
attack on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant the largest man-made
environmental disaster in Europe in decades.
Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence has said
that the Russian demolition of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant
increases the threat of a nuclear disaster.
According to the State Emergency Service,
as of 8:00 PM on June 8, a total of 2,339 individuals have been evacuated from
the flooded areas in Kherson Oblast. Preliminary reports indicate that 32
settlements and 3,625 houses on the right bank of the Dnipro River have been
affected by the flooding.
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