War in Ukraine: Russia ‘very likely’ behind Kakhovka hydroelectric explosion, experts say

Who is behind the destruction of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station on June 6? As Moscow and Kyiv blame each other, an international team of experts helping Ukrainian prosecutors investigate them released their preliminary findings on Friday. According to them, the explosion of the dam was “most likely” caused by explosives planted by the Russians, according to Reuters.

Experts from the international human rights law firm Global Rights Compliance visited the Kherson region on June 10 and 11 together with the Prosecutor General of Ukraine and the team of the International Criminal Court. The destruction of the dam, which had been under Russian control since the beginning of the war, caused floods in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Russian authorities reported 17 dead. On the part of Ukraine, Kyiv regrets the 10 dead.

“Evidence and analysis of available information, including seismic sensors and discussions with leading demolition experts, indicate a high probability that the destruction was caused by pre-installed explosives (from the Russian side) located at critical points in the dam structure,” Global Rights Compliance lawyers told Reuters.

War crime?

According to the firm’s lead lawyer, Yusuf Syed Khan, this conclusion is “80% or more” reliable. The discovery is based “not only on seismic sensors and one of the leading open source intelligence providers, but also on attack patterns and other attacks that we have documented,” he told Reuters.

The panel of experts rejected the hypothesis that the failure of the dam was caused by simple mismanagement.

A deliberate attack on a dam could constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law, Catriona Murdoch, a lawyer and expert on famine-related crimes, said in a press release.

“Dams cannot be attacked when the release of water can lead to serious civilian casualties. Even actual military installations located at or near checkpoints cannot be attacked if the strike is known to result in serious civilian casualties,” explained the expert, who was part of one of the first delegations to arrive on the scene.