Ukraine: "Dam Explosion Was Russia's Act... Related Communications Intercepted"

Conversation of Male Suspected Russian Soldier Released
Specific Identity Information Not Disclosed

The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) recently announced that it has obtained communication data proving that Russia was responsible for the explosion of the Kakhovka Dam in the southern Kherson region.

On the 7th (local time), a village in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine, occupied by Russia, was submerged due to the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam. The dam exploded early the previous day, flooding surrounding villages with a massive amount of water, resulting in seven residents missing and tens of thousands evacuating.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The international broadcaster Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty reported this on the 9th (local time), citing the SBU's announcement. According to the outlet, the SBU posted a 1 minute and 30 seconds long audio file on a Russian social networking service (SNS) Telegram channel that day, explaining that the file is intercepted phone call data of Russian soldiers.

In the call, a man says in Russian, "They (Ukraine) did not attack. Our sabotage group did it. They want to scare people with this dam."

The man continues, "It did not go according to plan. (They) did more than originally planned," adding that thousands of animals downstream of the dam died as a result. Another man listening to him expresses surprise.

On the 8th (local time), the third day since the destruction of the Kakhovka Dam in Kherson Province, Ukraine, residents are rescuing dogs in a local village submerged in water.
[Image source=AFP Yonhap News]

The SBU identified the voices of the two men in the call as "Russian soldiers," but did not disclose their specific identities.

However, it claimed, "Through this interception, we confirmed that the Kakhovka Dam was blown up as a sabotage operation by occupying forces," and "The invaders exploded the dam to threaten Ukraine and cause an artificial disaster in southern Ukraine."

The Kakhovka Dam was destroyed in the early morning of the 6th. This dam, about 6.7 times the size of South Korea’s Chungjuho Dam, is a key infrastructure used not only for drinking water for nearby residents but also as cooling water for the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.

On the 6th (local time), the Kakhovka Dam in the southern Kherson region, a Russian-occupied area in Ukraine, was partially destroyed, causing flooding. Ukrainian rescue workers are evacuating residents.
[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

Ukrainian and Russian authorities are each accusing the other of being behind the dam explosion.

Meanwhile, according to Russian media such as Sputnik News, at least five local residents died and 41 were hospitalized due to injuries caused by the dam explosion.