UNITED NATIONS, June 7. /TASS/. The Kiev government’s sabotage attack on the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant’s dam may constitute a war crime, Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vasily Nebenzya has said.
"Kiev’s deliberate sabotage attack against a vital infrastructure facility is extremely dangerous and, in essence, may fall into the category of war crimes or terror attacks," he told the UN Security Council on Tuesday. "Attacks on facilities that contain hazards are directly prohibited by the international humanitarian law. Moreover, dams are directly mentioned in the Article 56 of the 1977 amendment Protocol 1 to the Geneva Conventions."
Ukrainian forces shelled the Kakhovka HPP in the early morning hours on Tuesday, presumably using missiles fired from an Olkha multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). The gate valves of the plant’s dam collapsed as a result of the shelling, causing water to pour out uncontrollably.
As of now, the water level in Novaya Kakhovka has risen to above 12 meters. Fourteen settlements have been flooded and up to 80 are at risk of being inundated. People are being evacuated from neighboring settlements. However, according to local authorities, large-scale evacuations are not necessary. Farmlands along the Dnieper have been washed away. There is a risk of the drying out of the North Crimean Canal, which feeds water to Crimea.
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the attack on the Kakhovka HPP as a deliberate act of sabotage by Ukraine. He added that the Kiev regime should bear all the responsibility for the consequences.