The area was the primary target: in the early hours of the attack on Ukraine at the end of February, the Russian army took control of a dam and hydroelectric power station that were crucial to feeding the annexed Crimean peninsula.
Three months later, the turbines at the unit in Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region of southern Ukraine are operating under intense noise.
The plant is intact, the waters flow and emptied into the Dnieper River.
During a press visit organized by the Russian Ministry of Defense on 20 May, AFP managed to enter the field under constant surveillance by soldiers with their faces covered and armed with machine guns.
Several Russian officials stated that the country aims to annex Ukraine’s Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, which would make it possible to establish a land bridge to connect Russian territory with Crimea.
And the center, still painted in Ukrainian colors, is considered a sensitive “strategic target”. Far from the war front in the north, but occupying the region, the Russians are afraid of “sabotage”.
“There have been attempts by saboteurs to bring explosive charges, but all have been thwarted,” said Vladimir Leontiev, a pro-Russian fighter appointed by Moscow to head the civil and military administration of the Kakhovka region.
Leontiev did not explain the charges, only emphasizing that the collapse of the dam would mean “great misfortune” and devastating flooding.
It is possible to observe a large hole in the road safety barrier at the dam, as if a vehicle had passed. Authorities made no statement.
The Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, built in Soviet times in 1956, allows water to be sent to the North Crimean Canal, which begins in southern Ukraine and crosses the entire peninsula.
But after the 2014 annexation, Kyiv turned off the tap. A measure causing major irrigation and water access problems in Crimea.
The new pro-Russian authorities claim that the water supply to Crimea through the canal has resumed and that 1.7 million cubic meters of water are now being sent to the peninsula every day.
“There is a lot, a lot of water going to Crimea. We do not want payment at the moment, this is our contribution to make up for the losses suffered by the Ukrainians and Russians for eight years,” Leontiev says. .
He reported that since February 24, all employees of the factory have remained and have been working uninterruptedly. Civilians can use the road that crosses the dam and crosses the Dnieper after a search by Russian soldiers.
The power plant continues to generate electricity connected to Ukraine’s unified Ukrainian grid, while also feeding areas controlled by Kyiv and conquered by Moscow.
“We cannot stop the energy generation and distribution to the combined (Ukrainian) grid,” says Vladimir Leontiev. “It’s physically impossible right now.”
source: Noticias
