Ukraine Counteroffensive, Russians Blow Dam.
June 6th, the 70th Anniversary of Day—and it’s looking like the long-awaited Ukraine Counteroffensive is beginning.
Exhibit A: the Russians have blown the Kakhova Dam. It’s like blowing up the Hoover Dam, if the Colorado ran through cities and farmland.
This is the Russian Way of War. It’s what they do, it’s what they are. Scorched Earth. If we can’t have it, nobody can. Yep, it’s an ecological and human disaster, to unleash floods all down the Dnipro River. Yep, it’s probably a war crime. So what? The Russians claim it’s really the Ukrainians who blew the dam, but that’s a lie. This too is the Russian Way of War.
Check out the First Map.
The Kakhova Dam holds back the waters of the Dnipro River—also called the Dneiper—which is one of the world’s greatest rivers, flowing to the Black Sea. The dam is a source for hydroelectric power, and also drinking water for the region. Novaya Kakhova is the city next to them, and it’s already flooding.
Now look at the Second Map.
The first little red circle in the lower left hand corner shows the location of the dam. The big red circle shows the upstream dammed waters—the Kakhovka Reservoir. It’s about the volume of the US Great Salt Lake, and is rimmed with towns and cities and there are more downstream.
You get the idea. This is a major act of destruction, and is not only a terror tactic, but probably is meant to deny the Ukraine forces the ability to cross and attack in force. And this too, is business as usual for the Russian army. Will it work? Who knows? But such a massive, destructive act tells me a few things:
–The Ukrainian Counter offensive has truly begun.
–The Russians are not confident of their military ability to hold the line.
–The Russians are playing by their usual playbook, and want the world to know it.
–This is a move of desperation.
ONE MORE THING: Upstream from the dam and on the coast of the Reservoir, sits the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, red circle.
Here’s a picture.
The blue water in the picture background is the Kakhovka Reservoir, now draining out through the blown dam. Like the dam, the Nuke Plant is held by the Russians. The International Atomic Energy Agency has stated there’s no imminent nuclear disaster from the dam’s breaking and reservoir draining.
For now.
But if Putin can order the Kakhovka Dam blown, what’s to stop the Russkies from pulling the wrong switch on one of the reactors? That’s what they did at Chernobyl, and they didn’t even mean to.
OOPS!
