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Ukraine accused Russia of plotting to demolish a hydroelectric dam in the eastern Kherson region, where Ukrainian troops have been steadily advancing and Moscow-installed authorities have begun evacuations.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian forces mined the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant with the intention of blowing it up, resulting in a “catastrophe on a grand scale.”
Hundreds of thousands of people in the lower Dnipro River basin would face rapid flooding if the dam were destroyed, Zelensky warned in a speech to European leaders on Thursday.
He stated that cutting water supplies to the south could have an effect on the cooling systems of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Zaporizhzhia.
According to Zelensky’s adviser, Mykhailo Podolyak, Russia’s goal is to halt the Ukrainian advance in the region and protect Russian troops.
Battleground for Energy
Cities across Ukraine began reducing electricity consumption ahead of winter on Thursday, as authorities warned that Russian attacks on the country’s energy grid would cause a new wave of refugees to flee.
Russia’s leadership has given the order to turn the entire energy system into a battleground. The ramifications of this are extremely dangerous, once again for all of us in Europe.” In an address to the EU council, Zelensky stated
Authorities implemented energy-saving measures across the country after Russian missile and drone strikes destroyed at least 30% of the country’s power plants in a week.
Following overnight blackouts in parts of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko urged businesses to limit the use of screens and signage lights “as much as possible.”
“Even small savings and lower electricity consumption in every home will help stabilise the operation of the national energy system,” he said.
Ukrainians reacted defiantly.
“It’s not going to change our attitude; maybe we’ll just hate them more,” Olga, a Dnipro resident who declined to give her last name, said.
“I’d rather sit in the cold with no water or electricity than be in Russia,” she said.
According to Kyrylo, an electronics vendor, people were rushing to buy backup power supplies such as generators and batteries.
“I think there will be nothing that we cannot survive,” he said of the upcoming winter.
Iranians on the ground
The White House claimed to have proof that Iranians were directly involved in the conflict, helping the Russians control their “kamikaze drones,” which were produced in Iran and are used in strikes on Ukrainian targets including power stations.
Providing weapons that are impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, Tehran is currently directly involved on the ground, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby.
He also expressed concern that Iran might supply Russia with surface-to-surface missiles for use in the war.
He continued, “The United States will employ all appropriate tools to uncover, prevent, and confront Iran’s transfer of lethal armaments against the people of Ukraine.
The European Union and the United Kingdom imposed sanctions on three Iranian generals and an arms firm accused of supplying Russia with drones.
However, bipartisan support for military aid to Ukraine is beginning to dwindle in Washington, with Republicans signalling that funding could be cut after the midterm elections next month.
“They have no understanding of American foreign policy.”
Kherson is being evacuated.
Little has changed along the long front lines, where Russia has deployed many of the 200,000 new troops.
Russian President Vladimir Putin visited a training facility for mobilised troops south of Moscow on Thursday, where he hugged soldiers and fired a gun.
Some fighters opened their rucksacks to show him what they were carrying, and when he asked one about his family, he was told he had a five-year-old daughter.
Putin embraced him and wished him luck.
Meanwhile, Russia continued to evacuate residents of Kherson as Ukrainian forces drew closer to the southern hub, which has been in Moscow’s hands since the invasion began in February.
According to Kherson’s Moscow-installed authorities, approximately 15,000 people have been relocated.
Russia’s Rossiya 24 TV broadcast images of people waiting to board ferries after being unable to use bridges damaged by Ukraine.
Kirill Stremousov, a pro-Russian official, said on Telegram that the evacuations would give Russian forces more room to fight and that they would not hand over the city to the Ukrainians.
“Remember, nobody is going to give up Kherson,” he said.
However, Ukrainians claimed that civilians were being deported to Russia.
According to the Institute for the Study of War’s daily analysis, as Ukrainian forces continue to close in on Kherson, Russian authorities “are likely setting information conditions to justify planned Russian retreats and significant territorial losses.”
