(Dan Tri) – Russian President Vladimir Putin called the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam in southern Ukraine a `barbaric act`.
Russian President Vladimir Putin (Photo: Reuters).
The Kremlin said that in a phone call with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 7, President Vladimir Putin criticized the attack on the Kakhovka dam in Kherson, southern Ukraine as a `barbaric act`.
The owner of the Kremlin accused Ukraine of following Western orders and continuing to bet on the dangerous path of escalation.
On the morning of June 6, Russia and Ukraine simultaneously announced that the giant Kakhovka hydroelectric dam on the Dnieper River in Kherson was partially destroyed and blamed the other side.
Ukrainian authorities said that the Kakhovka dam was at its peak and the flood waters could recede in the next 2-4 days, but the consequences would still be huge.
Nato Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said he will chair a meeting of an emergency coordination board with Ukraine on June 8 to discuss the dam collapse.
Both Russia, Ukraine and United Nations Security Council members called for an international investigation to clarify the incident in the context of Moscow and Kiev blaming each other.
At an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on June 6, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia blamed Ukraine for deliberately breaking the dam to create a `favorable opportunity` for regrouping forces to continue protesting.
`The deliberate sabotage carried out by Kiev against a vital infrastructure is extremely dangerous and can essentially be considered a war crime or act of terrorism,` Mr. Nebenzia said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov later also argued that the Kakhovka dam collapse was the result of `an intentional act of sabotage on the part of Ukraine`.
According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, Ukraine’s counterattacks earlier this week were repelled, causing Kiev to lose more than 3,700 soldiers, 52 tanks, 207 armored fighting vehicles, 5 aircraft, 2 helicopters, 48 teams.
However, Kiev denied the above information.
Mr. Danilov explained that Russia confused Ukraine’s local attacks in some front-line areas with a large-scale counterattack campaign.