EU Council President Michel shocked by Kakhovka dam destruction
EU Council President Charles Michel is shocked by the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric dam and promises to bring the Russian Federation to justice.
Michel made the remarks on Twitter on June 6, Caliber.Az reports.
"Shocked by the unprecedented attack of the Nova Kakhovka dam. The destruction of civilian infrastructure clearly qualifies as a war crime - and we will hold Russia and its proxies accountable," Michel tweeted.
He promised to raise this issue at the June EU summit. Michel also offered more help to the flooded territories.
“I will raise the issue at June EUCO and propose more assistance to the flooded areas. My thoughts with all the families in Ukraine affected by this catastrophe,” he added.
Ukraine's Operational Command South said on June 6 that Russian forces had blown up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant on the River Dnipro.
"Russian occupying troops have blown up the [dam of the] Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. The scale of destruction, speed and volumes of water, as well as likely areas to be flooded, are being established. All the services are working. The situation is being monitored," the command said on Facebook on June 6.
The head of the Kherson regional military administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, warned that the water "will reach a critical level in five hours" and called on the residents of the region's population centres in the eastern bank to "immediately leave to save your lives".
Dozens of population centres in both Ukrainian- and Russian-controlled parts of the Kherson Region may be affected by flooding.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defence Council (NSDC) over the blowing up of the dam.
Shocked by the unprecedented attack of the Nova Kakhovka dam.
— Charles Michel (@CharlesMichel) June 6, 2023
The destruction of civilian infrastructure clearly qualifies as a war crime - and we will hold Russia and its proxies accountable.