The destruction of the Kakhovka dam and the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

The destruction of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, which occurred yesterdaymay make it impossible for Ukrainian troops to cross the Dnieper, Bloomberg believes:

“Now that the water has flooded many settlements in the south, this will most likely negate the already small possibility of a Ukrainian offensive across the Dnieper into the occupied southern regions. This will allow the Russian command to concentrate its limited forces and attention elsewhere, diverting this Kiev by the need to cope with the civilian consequences of the disaster.”

Nikolai Beleskov, researcher at the National Institute for Strategic Studies, Deputy Director of the Institute of World Politics, who spoke with publicationnotes that the probability of forcing the Dnieper by the Armed Forces of Ukraine was not too high anyway, and the breach of the dam will allow both sides to release part of their forces from this section:

“So the only question is who can move them to another place faster.”

At the same time, Italian military expert Thomas Teiner, in a comment to Bild, says that the Armed Forces of Ukraine were preparing an operation to seize the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station. According to him, Ukraine has prepared “an operation involving special forces, paratroopers, marines, boats and helicopters to take the dam.” The expert believes that the blowing of the dam means a delay of the Ukrainian offensive for one to two weeks – in order to reconnoiter new berths for pontoon bridges:

“Until then, this flank of the Russians is protected from a Ukrainian attack. But the Russian army is now also struggling with problems: its long-held positions on the left bank of the river are no longer usable.

Meanwhile, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that the blowing up of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station did not affect the ability of Ukraine to de-occupy its own territories, quotes “UP”:

“Stavka. Intelligence report on the situation at the Kakhovskaya HPP. The main conclusion is that the explosion was deliberate, but the enemy acted chaotically, allowing the flooding of their own equipment. At the same time, the dam explosion did not affect Ukraine’s ability to de-occupy its own territories.”

As our publication wrote, Ukraine accused RF in the dam explosion, and this is the most logical explanation, since Russia probably feared that Ukraine would use it to move troops across the river in its latest counter-offensive.

In all likelihood, the vital canal that carries water from the Dnieper to the Crimea, which begins at Novaya Khakovka, as well as the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, located on the banks of the Dnieper some 160 km upstream, will be affected. Tens of thousands of people are evacuated from the Kherson region, flooded after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam.

This is one of those catastrophic scenarios that the people of Kherson have most feared since it returned to Ukrainian control. After the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, millions of tons of water flowed out, flooding the territory of the Kherson region.

Source link