Ukrainian Security Service publishes intercepted call confirming Russians blew up Kakhovka dam
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported that it intercepted a phone call proving that the dam of the Nova Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in southern Ukraine was blown up by a Russian sabotage group.
A one-and-a-half-minute recording of a conversation between two men discussing the consequences of the disaster was posted by the SBU on its Telegram channel.
"It wasn’t them who struck it, it was our sabotage group who did it," says the alleged Russian military. “They wanted to sort of scare them with this dam. It didn't go according to the plan, but more than they planned."
The person on the phone also describes the consequences of this disaster: rising water levels, flooding , the death of people and animals in the zoo.
The authenticity of the interception, as well as the source’s knowledge of the situation, has not been confirmed. However, the SBU said in the statement that it has launched a criminal investigation into this war crime committed by Russia. A criminal case was opened under two articles: Article 438 (violation of the laws or customs of war) and Article 441 (ecocide).
"By blowing up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, the Russian Federation has finally proved that it poses a threat to the entire civilized world," commented the head of the SBU head, Vasyl Maliuk. After all, only a real terrorist state can arrange a man-made and environmental catastrophe of this level. And they will definitely answer for this - both on the battlefield and in international courts. Our task is to bring to justice not only the top of Putin's regime, but also ordinary perpetrators of crimes."
Earlier, experts from the Norwegian seismic research foundation, Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR), analyzed data from regional seismic stations for June 6, the day of the destruction of the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in Ukraine. The experts detected clear signals at 02:54 am (01:54 Norwegian time). The time and origin coincide with media reports about the collapse of the dam. Signals indicate that an explosion occurred at the power plant.