In today's summary:
- Evacuation of the Kherson region;
- Seismic data indicate a dam failure;
- Zelensky visited flooded areas;
- Residents of the occupied left bank are not allowed to escape;
- In Crimea, they are preparing for dehydration.
What destroyed the dam
What exactly caused the destruction of the dam at the Kakhovskaya HPP is still not clear. Britain, following the United States, refused to blame Russia for the destruction and subsequent flooding. British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the British intelligence services and the military are processing information about the dam explosion.
“But if it turns out to be true, if it turns out to be deliberate, it will confirm an even deeper decline,” Sunak said.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian independent seismic monitoring foundation NORSAR, whose main task is to monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, says seismic signals indicate that an explosion has occurred at the New Kakhovka Dam.
Nikolai Kalinin, Deputy Technical Director, Chief Project Engineer of the UKRGIDROPROEKT PRAT, also stated that the destruction could not have occurred due to an outside impact. According to him, this is a consequence of the deliberate undermining of the dam.
“I suppose that it should be several simultaneous powerful explosions from the inside. Most likely, the dam itself and the building of the hydroelectric power station, where hydroelectric units were installed, were mined. I emphasize once again – it is mined from the inside. As for the fact that a powerful explosion was not heard, it is explained by the fact that the explosives were planted in the depths of the power plant building in the interior, below the water level.
The situation at the front
The evacuation of residents of the Kherson region continues along both banks of the Dnieper. Residents of the left-bank part faced the fact that the occupation authorities did not allow rescuers, in particular, volunteers, to the flooded area for fear of the passage of sabotage groups. Because of this, many local residents found themselves unable to leave the flooded areas, many sit on the roofs of houses. Many messages with requests for rescue come from Oleshki.
In addition, 30 people with hypothermia were taken to the Oleshkovsky hospital, Tatyana Gasanenko, head of the Oleshkovsky GVA, reports . According to Gasanenko, local residents simply cannot leave the water trap. The Russian military does not let them out of the city.
There is also the first data on the victims of the flood. Mayor Oleshek Yevgeny Ryshchuk said that at least three dead are already known. He clarified that the city is flooded by 90%.
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has already visited the Kherson region. He discussed evacuation issues and prospects for rebuilding the region.
“It is important to calculate the losses and allocate funds for compensation to residents affected by the disaster, and develop a program to compensate for losses or relocate enterprises within Kherson,” the presidential press service said in a statement. He also visited a crossing in Kherson, where the population is being evacuated from flooded territories.
Also, the water supply of the Nikopol district of the Dnepropetrovsk region was called into question – the water in two of the three largest reservoirs moved more than 30 meters, writes "Unian".
Flooding carries risks for the Zaporozhye NPP. Earlier, experts told The Insider that at the moment the situation is not critical, but this is not a long-term forecast.
According to the head of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, the situation will become dangerous in a few weeks.
“Certainly there is a danger. Perhaps in a few weeks or a month, but something needs to be done. (…) The problem may be delayed for a few days or weeks, but the problem will be,” stated Grossi.
There were also satellite images of the distribution of water on the territory of the left bank of the Dnieper. At the same time, the local department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, according to Ukrainian media, records that the rise in water levels has decreased
There is no evidence of Russia's involvement in the disaster at the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station yet, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the German publication Bild. “What evidence can we have? When we are on site, we will collect evidence,” Zelensky said. According to the president, international experts should also be involved in this.
At the same time, the White House resolutely called Russia the culprit of the disaster. US Presidential Administration spokesman Karine Jean-Pierre noted that the United States is still collecting information about what happened, but the responsibility in any case lies with Russia, which unleashed the war.
“This dam was under Russian control and they are responsible for the destruction caused by this war. And we will do our best to support the people of Ukraine in this difficult time,” the speaker said.
Despite the flood and Russia's inability to evacuate people from the occupied territories, the Russian military continues to shell the Kherson region. This is told by numerous witnesses, in particular volunteers who are trying to save people and animals on their own.
“The terrorists have just fired guided aerial bombs at the city of Berislav and the Berislav region, and we are only now establishing the consequences of these bombings, so we can once again state that the Russian regime is showing its terrorist face,” the head of the Ukrainian Interior Ministry said .
The network published footage of how the projectile hits the water next to the volunteers, who travel by boat along the flooded street. Sky News journalist Alex Crawford filmed local residents fleeing in panic from an evacuation point after being hit by a nearby shell. The head of the Kherson regional military administration said that nine people were wounded as a result of shelling, including rescuers, a policeman, a doctor and a volunteer from Germany.
At the same time, the Russian-appointed head of the Kherson region, Volodymyr Saldo, said that Ukrainian troops had fired on an evacuation point near the Hola Pristan on the left bank of the Dnieper. According to him, two people died, two more were taken to the hospital.
According to experts from the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW), the Russians had a powerful motive to blow up the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station. Before the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, Russian propagandists actively expressed concern about the possible forcing of the Dnieper by the Ukrainian army and were sure that this was almost inevitable.
“The fear of such a transition and the belief that it has either already begun or is imminent was present in the minds of Russians who closely followed the war shortly before the dam was destroyed,” observers said.
Earlier, The Insider also wrote that a week before the explosion at the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, the Russian authorities were allowed not to investigate accidents and terrorist attacks at dangerous facilities.
ISW was also informed that the flood actually washed away the Russian line of fortifications on the left bank of the Dnieper. According to experts, the flood greatly affects the positions of Russian troops on the left bank of the Dnieper. Based on satellite imagery, water currents are destroying Russian defensive fortifications, especially in the areas of Golay Pristan and the city of Oleshki.
In some places along the length of the Russian defense line, the water reaches the height of a one-story house. ISW experts believe that the situation on the left bank will still change radically within 72 hours.
How exactly the Russian defense lines were damaged can be seen on the Agence France Press map .
Mutual shelling and sabotage
Donetsk region. The Russian military attacked the city of Ukrainsk in the Donetsk region, killing three people, including one child, four more children and one adult were injured. This was announced by the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak. 14 high-rise buildings and two private houses were damaged.
Arrivals in Lugansk. According to preliminary data, three enterprises were shelled. According to the geolocation of the video of smoke columns, the blow fell on the industrial zone. Most likely, the strike was carried out with the help of the British Storm Shadow cruise missile. Later, fragments of one of these missiles were presented .
Counteroffensive. In the Zaporozhye region, the Russians are destroying and building dams to complicate the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian Center for Journalistic Investigations.
A video appeared on the network, in which, presumably, soldiers of the 37th Brigade of the Armed Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine make an appeal in which they say that the command sent them to Novodonetskoye with the order “go there, there is no one there.” Upon arrival, the Ukrainian military said they encountered mortar fire and drone strikes. They suffered losses, but many managed to escape. The fighters are asking for a change of command, which they claim sent them into battle without any support.
Subsequently, the Russian Ministry of Defense published a video in which, as confirmed by the researchers of the Ukraine Weapons Tracker project, the destroyed Leopard 2 is indeed visible.
Pro-Russian Z-channels write that the Ukrainian counter-offensive has begun.
According to the "military correspondent", blogger Semyon Pegov, there are "dense battles that have not been seen for a long time."
“In the direction of Orekhov-Tokmak, our troops are trying to dislodge the enemy infantry from their advanced positions. Unfortunately, there are losses, which is natural for such tight fights. At the same time, the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine does not reduce the intensity, heavy shelling of our borders continues. Our artillery works in response. It is reported from the scene that another tank, outwardly similar to the German Leopard, was destroyed. According to one of the participants, he had not seen such a tight fight for a long time.
Bild columnist Yulian Repke also talks about the Ukrainian offensive in the Zaporozhye region in the direction of Tokmak and Pology. However, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine denies reports of a counter-offensive that has begun, Reuters reports. The map of the advancement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the direction of the village of Robotino is published by the Ukraine Battle Map project.
At the same time, counter-offensive operations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue in the Bakhmut area. The network is circulating a video recorded by mobilized from the 1307th regiment, which holds positions in the Berkhovka area on the northern flank of the Bakhmut direction. They complain about the lack of support, communications, ammunition and even provisions, and estimate that up to 30% of the personnel remain in the regiment.
The Gray Zone channel, which is close to PMC Wagner, publishes drone footage where it claims to have filmed Ukrainian positions near the Berkhovsky reservoir, as well as a video showing that Russian positions in the next landing are being shot at by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The situation on the northern flank of Bakhmut, according to the Ukraine Battle Map, is as follows:
The Ukrainians continue to advance south of Bakhmut. Soldiers of the 3rd assault brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, who operate in this direction, show the captured documents of the Russian military and the chevron of the Russian 57th separate motorized rifle brigade.
Water and Crimea
The destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station leads to drought in the Crimea. This is understood in the reservoir water from the North Crimean Canal, which will gradually shallow, said the "head of the region" Sergei Aksenov.
The fact that the destruction of the dam will lead to a disruption of the water supply of Crimea was previously warned in a conversation with The Insider by the Ukrainian military and public figure, major general of the Security Service of Ukraine, ex-deputy chairman of the SBU Viktor Yagun.
“In Crimea, everything is very simple. The Kakhovka reservoir was built in 1958 to provide Crimea with water. It was only later that a nuclear power plant was built, which was also fed from there with water. After the water in the Kakhovka reservoir decreases even by five meters, this canal will cease to exist and will not be able to pump water.
At the moment there is no water in Kerch. No one there expected such a catastrophe and such consequences. The explosives had been planted there a long time ago, and they were trying to either destroy the station itself or the canvas. Given that we also spoiled the canvas before that, they did not calculate the force of the explosion and got what they got.
Losses
Pro-Russian Z-channels report that the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost "dozens of pieces of equipment" during the offensive of armored groups near Orekhov (Zaporozhye region).
“At night, our positions were subjected to strong pressure from the enemy in the Orekhovsky direction. The enemy rolled in waves. At least two attacks were repulsed by our military. Never seen before. (…) The enemy managed to take several heights, but in general, a deep breakthrough did not work out that night. Eyewitnesses write from there that the enemy is throwing unit after unit into battle. Lots of technology. Our aviation works in a carousel. Many have been destroyed. There is a real harvest, ”the Veteran’s Zapiski Z-channel reports. Propagandists write that in this way the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to cut off the land corridor to Crimea.
At the same time, photos of allegedly destroyed Leopard tanks are circulating on social networks. In fact, the photos were taken in Syria long before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Armaments and military equipment
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu visited "the arsenals and storage bases for armored vehicles of the Western Military District." The frame shows BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, BMP-2M infantry fighting vehicles with a Berezhok combat module, and Soviet-style T-80BV tanks. The minister is informed about the imminent delivery of new equipment to the front, and he (apparently indicative) demands to speed up the process and tells, apparently, about the results of the battles in the Zaporozhye direction. It remains an open question why equipment from factories is sent to storage bases, and not straight to the war zone.
New photos of the Leopard 2 tank in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine have also appeared – judging by the applied tactical signs, it is ready for the offensive. Unfortunately for the memomodels, the additionally installed dynamic protection " Contact-1 " was not noticed on the tank.
The website of the German government has updated information on the supply of equipment and weapons to Ukraine. Germany donated Bandvagn 206 all-terrain vehicles, reconnaissance drones, anti-drone systems, Gepard anti-aircraft ammunition, armored vehicles for border guards, trucks and dry rations.
About the main events of the war on June 7 – in the previous report: “ The invaders do not allow the civilian population to be evacuated after the dam was blown up, the mobilized suffer losses from the RDK. What's Happening on the Front Line