Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), Vasily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council on Tuesday that the Kiev Armed Forces perpetrated the attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in the Kherson region.
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At a special UNSC meeting in New York, the Russian ambassador blamed the "Kiev regime and its Western sponsors" for "blowing up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and thus the flow of the Dnieper River." He said that this was an "act of sabotage" that could qualify as a war crime.
According to Nebenzia, Ukraine was seeking thereby "to attract maximum attention in order to create favorable conditions for regrouping units of the Armed Forces and continuing a highly publicized counter-offensive which, by all indications, is drowning and failing to achieve the goals set by Kiev."
Noting that the sabotage was pre-planned, the Russian diplomat said Kiev aimed to inflict "the greatest possible damage to the population of vast territories, which inevitably involves the destruction of a major water and energy infrastructure facility."
On October 21, 2022, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Vasily Nebenzia, sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General about the plans of the Kiev regime to destroy the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power plant Question to Antonio Guterres: what was done?
Nebenzia said Russia had previously warned "the international community and the UN leadership about (...) the Kiev regime's plans to destroy [the Kiev hydroelectric power plant at] Kakhovka."
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities have blamed Russian forces for the destruction of the dam, claiming that the incident could have negative consequences for the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
In this regard, the Russian ambassador denounced "the disinformation campaign" promoted by Kiev and the West. Nebenzia said Ukraine openly boasts of the use of "terrorist methods" that have become its "official tactics."
The attack on the hydroelectric power plant caused dam breaches and massive flooding on both sides of the Dnieper River, prompting large-scale evacuations in the area. Some 300 homes could be affected by the flooding, and it is estimated that up to 80 localities may be affected in the flooded area.