Moscow to tally up damage from Kakhovka dam destruction — Russian diplomat at OSCE

Russian Politics & Diplomacy June 09, 2023, 1:38

According to Deputy Representative of Russia to the OSCE Maxim Budkevich, Moscow understands in whose interests this critical infrastructure was destroyed

VIENNA, June 9. /TASS/. Russia plans to tally up the damage from the destruction of the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, so it can prosecute all the culprits, Maxim Budkevich, Russia’s deputy envoy to the OSCE, said on Thursday.

"We understand whose interests were served by the destruction of this critical infrastructure. Therefore, we definitely won’t seek to exonerate ourselves, but will instead tally up the damage done to these Russian territories in order to bring all those responsible - in the broadest sense - to justice," he said at a meeting of the OSCE Permanent Council.

According to the diplomat, "the facts tell us this large-scale sabotage was planned by Kiev in advance." He said Russia warned in 2022 that the facility could be attacked.

"In particular, Russia's permanent representative to the UN sent an official letter to the UN secretary general and the president of the Security Council on October 21, 2022, calling on them to prevent this monstrous crime. At that time, there was information that Ukrainian forces were considering the possibility of releasing naval mines downstream of the Dnieper or launching a massive missile strike on the dam. Unfortunately, the efforts to prevent this catastrophe failed," he said.

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