Concerns of Russian commanders in Ukraine trigger to hit dams

Russian forces have attacked two dams in a bid to delay the advance of Ukrainian forces after becoming "increasingly concerned" by Kyiv's counteroffensive, according to UK defence officials.

In its daily report, the British Ministry of Defence said the Pechenihy dam in north-eastern Ukraine was struck twice, on September 21 and 22, as Ukrainian troops continue to attack after routing their Russian opponents around Kharkiv earlier this month, per Newsweek.

Separately on September 15, the Karachunivske dam was reportedly hit in central Ukraine as Russia attempts to hold the city of Kherson just north of the Dnipro River.

The UK report said: "On 21 and 22 September 2022, Russia struck the Pechenihy dam on the Siverskyy Donets River using short-range ballistic missiles or similar weapons. This follows a strike on the Karachunivske Dam near Krivyy Rih in central Ukraine on 15 September 2022."

It added that the Ukrainian forces are advancing further downstream along both rivers. As Russian commanders become increasingly concerned about their operational setbacks, they are probably attempting to strike the sluice gates of dams, in order to flood Ukrainian military crossing points.

"The attacks are unlikely to have caused significant disruption to Ukrainian operations due to the distance between the damaged dams and the combat zones," reads the report.