The Nova Kakhova Dam in southern Ukraine has just been breached, flooding villages and Russian defensive positions in Kherson. Kherson is a majority Russian-speaking oblast.

In November 2022 Ukraine made a practice attack on the dam to see if they could flood the occupied Kherson territory. The test was a success, severely damaging the dam and forcing Russian troops to evacuate. Just a month ago, Ukrainian media was calling for the dam to be destroyed. Now they're blaming the Russians for destroying their own defenses by blowing the dam.

Let's remember that one of the first actions of the Russian invasion was to restore water to Crimea. Blowing the dam cuts water off from Crimea again. It also cuts water off from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, held by Russia. Russian trenches are now underwater, and mines in the area have been destroyed or flooded away. The entire area is now impassable.

It seems likely that the dam has not completely failed, only the upper levels with the control gates. This will limit the flooding. Nevertheless, this is a major setback for Russia, and will allow Ukraine to transfer troops from the Kherson front to Zaparozhia, where the Ukrainian counteroffensive is going catastrophically for the AFU.

• Who threatened to blow the dam? Ukraine.
• Who made a practice attack on the dam last year? Ukraine.
• Who benefits from blowing the dam? Ukraine.
• So who blew the dam? Obviously it must have been Russia. 🙄