This article was originally published by the Deutsche Welle on 16 June 2023 and can be accessed here.
A team of legal experts says it is “highly likely” that the breach of the Kakhovka dam in southern Ukraine was caused by explosives planted by Russians.
Legal staff from international human rights law firm Global Rights Compliance, which is implementing efforts to support accountability for atrocities in Ukraine, visited the Kherson region from June 10-11.
They were accompanied by Ukraine’s prosecutor general and a team from the International Criminal Court (ICC).
“The evidence and analysis of the information available — which includes seismic sensors and discussions with top demolition experts — indicates that there is a high probability the destruction was caused by pre-emplaced explosives positioned at critical points within the dam’s structure,” a summary of preliminary findings seen by Reuters said.
This was based “not only on seismic sensors, and one of the leading open source intelligence providers, but also based on patterns of attack and other attacks that we have documented,” according to senior lawyer Yousuf Syed Khan.
He said the finding that the dam was blown up by the Russian side “is an 80% and above determination.”
The huge Soviet-era Kakhovka hydroelectric dam has been under Russian control since the invasion. It was breached in the early hours of June 6, unleashing floodwater across a swathe of southern Ukraine, destroying farmland and cutting off water supplies.
