Kakhovka dam’s destruction would leave Crimea without water for years to come, Danilov says
Kakhovka HPP area in Kherson region (Photo:European Union/ Copernicus Sentinel-2 L2A/Handout via REUTERS)
If Russian troops blow up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Kherson Oblast, Moscow-occupied Crimea will remain without water supply for 10-15 years, the Secretary of the Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, said in an interview with Sky News on Oct. 25.
“If they blow up [the Kakhovka HPP], supplying fresh water to Crimea will become impossible for 10-15 years – maybe forever,” Danilov said.
“This invited the question: why do they need Crimea if they are going to leave it without water?”
When commenting on the situation in Kherson Oblast, Danilov noted that the situation is "not easy" and one shouldn’t expect the Russian invaders to "retreat on their own".
“They have a plan, which, I think we understand,” he said.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian invaders planted explosives at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station back in April, and are now carrying out work on mining floodgates and support structures. Ukraine has called on the UN and EU to send a monitoring mission to the facility.
On Oct. 20, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned that the Kremlin was preparing to stage a large-scale terrorist attack – blowing up the dam of the Kakhovka HPP in Kherson Oblast, as Ukraine is steadily pushing invading Russian forces out from the region.
Ukraine’s Operational Command South said that Russians would likely blow up the Kakhovka dam “as a measure of last resort,” should their defenses in Kherson Oblast collapse.
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