Russia Launches 'Flood Attacks' on Ukraine... Dam Blasted by Missiles

Dam Bombardment Over Past Months... Flood Occurs
NYT Says "Military Value of Dam Blasting Revealed"

Russia is reported to have carried out a water attack by blowing up a dam in eastern Ukraine, causing flooding.

On the 26th (local time), according to reports from The New York Times (NYT) and the British Independent, Ukrainian military authorities stated, "Russian forces launched a missile attack on the sluice gates of the Karliuka Dam in the eastern Donetsk region the previous day, aiming to block downstream supply routes."

Following this, Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of the military administration of Donetsk Oblast, released a video on Telegram showing torrents pouring from the destroyed dam. He also said, "The dam airstrike occurred around 5:20 p.m. on the 25th," adding, "Local authorities evacuated 26 residents and issued a flood warning for villages downstream along the Bouchcha River."

Kyrylenko stated that Russia had been continuously bombing this dam for several months, saying, "Primarily civilians are suffering."

The NYT reported that the attack flooded the Ukrainian military operation area near the front lines and that the downstream dam area was sealed off due to security concerns. It analyzed, "This highlights the military value of blowing up the dam," and added, "Russia is using flooding as a war tactic."

In September last year, Russia also fired missiles at a dam near Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine, bombing one of the two sluice gates. Russia used a total of seven Iskander and Kinzhal missiles in this attack.

Field photo released by Pavlo Kyrylenko, the head of military administration of Donetsk Oblast. [Image source=Captured from Pavlo Kyrylenko's Telegram]

At that time, Ukrainian authorities claimed, "Russia carried out this attack to eliminate a Ukrainian military pontoon bridge downstream of the Inhulets River." Although the pontoon bridge was ultimately undamaged, the water level of the Inhulets River temporarily rose by 2 meters, flooding parts of Kryvyi Rih.

The Ukrainian government has also repeatedly expressed concerns that Russia might blow up the hydroelectric dam on the Dnipro River to release water from the Kakhovka Reservoir.

Ukraine has claimed, "Russia's attacks aim to flood residential areas and military bases along the downstream riverbanks or threaten the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which draws cooling water from the reservoir."

Additionally, Ukrainian authorities have stated that Russia, which occupies the eastern embankment of the Kakhovka Dam site and controls the sluice gates, is manipulating the reservoir's water level for unknown reasons. Last winter, the reservoir's water level dropped to its lowest in 40 years, causing water supply difficulties in upstream Ukrainian villages, and in spring, it was left to rise to dangerous levels.

According to French geospatial data company Theia and others, the water level of the Kakhovka Reservoir recently rose to its highest in 30 years, increasing the risk of flooding.

Moreover, early in the war, the Ukrainian military also blew up the sluice gates of a dam to block Russian tanks from entering Kyiv and buy time for defense, flooding the Irpin River valley. This resulted in dozens of houses being submerged.