The Kakhovka dam was "crippled by an explosion caused by the party that controls it: Russia".
While Ukraine and Russia rebound the accusations about who would have brought down the structure of the hydroelectric plant, the New York Times points the finger at Moscow, despite the fact that "multiple explanations are theoretically possible".
The American paper has heard from engineers and explosives experts that the dam had "an Achilles' heel": being "built in the Soviet era, Moscow had every page of technical drawings".
The dam, they go on to explain, "was built with an enormous block of concrete at the base" and is crossed by "a small passage, which can be reached from the engine room": right here, "the evidence suggests", "the charge that destroyed the dam.
According to pro-Russians, the deaths caused by the destruction of the dam would have risen to 29. For the Ukrainians, however, as of yesterday, June 17, the count was 16 confirmed dead, of which 14 in the Kherson region and 2 in the Mykolaiv region, in addition to about thirty missing. There are also six underwater settlements in the Kherson region, and 1,274 houses submerged under water.
A few days ago, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, arrived at the Russian-controlled Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which overlooks the Kakhovka dam basin, at the head of a group of inspectors. The situation is "serious", Grossi said after the visit, adding however that the emergency is receding.
(Unioneonline/D)