Ukraine Accuses Russia Of Explosion Threatening Europe's Largest Nuclear Plant As War Reaches 'A New Dimension'

In a major escalation of the conflict, Ukraine accused Russia of detonating a crucial dam on Tuesday, leading to widespread flooding and endangering Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which Putin gained control of during the first days of the invasion.

What Happened: The blast at the Kakhovska hydroelectric plant on the southern bank of the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine caused millions of gallons of water to rush toward communities, threatening thousands of houses and the cooling reservoir at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, according to Bloomberg.

While evacuation efforts were underway, Russian forces stationed on the north side of the river continued shelling the flooding towns and villages.

Last October, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy warned the Russians had mined the dam and Russian President Vladimir Putin planned to explode it pre-emptively if the Ukrainians attempted a counteroffensive to reclaim illegally annexed areas in the south and east.

Zelensky took to Twitter early Tuesday morning to respond to the attack, stating, “Russian terrorists. The destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant dam only confirms for the whole world that they must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian land,” adding, “Not a single meter should be left to them, because they use every meter for terror. It’s only Ukraine's victory that will return security. And this victory will come. The terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else.”

What’s More: Russia has increased its offensive against its neighbor recently by shelling Kyiv on multiple nights and by carrying out a rare daytime attack on the Ukrainian capital last month. The escalation of shelling comes ahead of an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied Russia was to blame for the explosion at the dam, telling Reuters that the Ukrainians were responsible.

European leaders spoke out against the attack, with Poland calling for “further, severe sanctions” and German German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stating that the destruction of the dam is “something that has a new dimension but that fits with the way Putin is waging this war,” according to the publication.

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