De Kruif calls it a prepared action in which explosives were used. “You really don’t just do that, so they’ve been working on it for weeks.” According to the former commander, the flooding is militarily disadvantageous for the Ukrainian army. Most of the water flows south, the area east of the Dnieper opposite Kherson is flooded. Those who want to build a bridgehead to Crimea or go to Melitopol will be frustrated, says De Kruif.
“Russians are the most militarily advantaged”
He adds that such destruction requires a lot of demolition experience. “So I’m betting for the time being on the Russians who did this, because they’ll reap the greatest military benefits from it.”
When asked, De Kruif does not think whether this will frustrate a possible Ukrainian counter-offensive because this is a scenario that military planners should have taken into consideration.
Crime
Whether there is damage to the Zaporizhia NPP and whether this can still lead to dangerous situations? De Kruif points out that the nuclear power plant is much further north, but that the energy supply of large areas is at risk. And that the destruction of the dam is therefore a crime under the laws of war.
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