Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky today accused Russian forces of blowing up the Khakhovka hydroelectric power station from the inside, and said Russia must be held accountable for a "terrorist attack."
A Ukrainian military spokesman said Russia's aim was to prevent Ukrainian troops from crossing the Dnieper River to attack Russian occupation forces.
Officials appointed by the Russian occupation forces gave conflicting accounts, with some blaming Ukrainian shelling, others saying the Dnieper dam exploded on its own.
“Tonight at 02:50, Russian terrorists carried out an internal detonation of the structures of the Kahovka hydroelectric dam. About 80 settlements are in the flood zone," Zelensky said after an emergency meeting of high-ranking officials.
"We are doing everything to save people," he said on the Telegram platform and added that at the meeting "a set of international measures and security measures were agreed upon in order to hold Russia accountable for this terrorist attack."
Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, said on Twitter that the move amounted to "a substantially new stage of Russian aggression."
Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba warned of the threat to the environment which could result in "regional ecocide".
Natalya Khomeniuk, a spokeswoman for Ukraine's southern military command, called the dam breach a "hysterical reaction" aimed at preventing Ukrainian troops from attacking Russian forces across the Dnieper River.
Serhiy Naev, commander of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said, according to the state-run Ukrinform news agency, that the flooding caused by the breach in the dam "should not hinder our advance in those directions where it can there is a water leak".
Ukrainian officials also said that "150 tons of engine oil" fell into the Dnieper River today after a breach in the Nova Kahovka hydroelectric dam, warning of the danger to the environment.
"There is also a risk of new oil spills, which has a negative impact on the environment," Daria Zaryvna, press adviser to the head of the Ukrainian presidential administration, Andriy Germak, wrote on Telegram.
In a statement, the Ukrainian presidency had spoken earlier today of a "risk of additional leaks" of "at least 300 tons".
On Telegram, Andrii Germak denounced "ecocide" – a crime against the environment – on behalf of Russia.
The breach in the Nova Kakhovka dam is causing fears of significant consequences for the fauna and flora of this region of southern Ukraine.
Ukraine is investigating the explosion at the hydroelectric dam in the southern part of the country as a war crime and possible environmental destruction or "ecocide," as the attorney general's office said.
Prosecutors said in comments sent to Reuters that they had launched "urgent investigations" into the breach at the Nova Kahovka hydroelectric dam.
Ukraine is one of a small number of states, including Russia, that have criminalized "homicide" in their national legislation.
Kyiv defines ecocide as "mass destruction of flora and fauna, poisoning gas or water resources, and also any other actions that may cause environmental destruction" in Article 441 of its criminal code.
Source: RES-EAP