Dam Busting: Russia Accused of Using Water as a Weapon, Thwarting Ukrainian Counter-Offensive in Kherson Region

‘From a tactical point of view,’ Kyiv ‘can forget about an offensive in Kherson,’ one Russian observer says after the destruction of a major dam across ‘Ukraine’s Mississippi.’

Maxar Technologies via AP
The breached Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine, June 5, 2023. Maxar Technologies via AP

Russia, by blowing up a major river dam across the Dnipro today, as Ukrainian and Western officials contend, has unleashed millions of gallons of water to block a Ukrainian cross-river offensive, turning 100 miles of front line into swamp.

The early morning explosion at Kakhovka dam took place hours after Ukrainian troops took several river islands in an effort to establish a beachhead on the east bank of the Dnipro. 

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