Thousands of people have been evacuated from the Kherson region of southern Ukraine after someone blew up the Kakhovka Dam on the Dnieper River, which separates Russian- and Ukrainian-controlled territory.
Here are a few videos, which are (of course) being used as propaganda by both sides:
80 towns and villages had to be evacuated.
The Ukrainians have been super quick to paint this as another example of Russian aggression, and maybe it was, but it's worth noting a few points here in coo-coo-land where everyone is lying about everything.
The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam not only hurts Ukrainians, but it cuts off a significant water supply for Crimea, which has been controlled by Russia for nearly a decade.
When in doubt, follow the money. There is fear in the markets that the destruction of this dam will cause Russia to retaliate by reducing wheat exports (yes, this is all a giant game of Settlers of Catan). From ZeroHedge:
In commodity markets, Andrey Sizov, managing director at agricultural consultant SovEcon, told Bloomberg that the dam's destruction "looks like a big escalation with dire consequences and huge headline risk." The risk is Russia could reduce the flow of grain exports from Ukraine through the Black Sea in response to the incident.
Wheat futures in Chicago surged as much as 3% on Tuesday. Sizov said, "This could be just the start of the bull run" in wheat prices.
BUT, on the other side, the destruction of the dam also poses a risk to Ukraine's largest nuclear power plant (also Europe's largest), the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which needs water from the reservoir created by the massive dam in order to cool its reactors.
"Water from the Kakhovka Reservoir is necessary for the station to receive power for turbine capacitors and safety systems of the ZNPP. The station's cooling pond is now full: as of 8:00 a.m., the water level is 16.6 meters, which is sufficient for the station's needs," the agency said.
It's worth noting that The Washington Post reported last December that Ukrainian forces had "conducted a test strike" as part of a dry run for a plan to blow up the dam. Major-General Andriy Kovalchuk, who oversees all Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine, considered striking the bridge as a strategic target that would hurt Russian interests.
The two bridges were targeted with U.S.-supplied M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems - or HIMARS launchers, which have a range of 50 miles and were quickly rendered impassable.
"There were moments when we turned off their supply lines completely, and they still managed to build crossings," Kovalchuk said. "They "They managed to replenish ammunition. ... It was very difficult.
Kovalchuk considered flooding the river. The Ukrainians, he said, even conducted a test strike with a HIMARS launcher on one of the floodgates at the Nova Kakhovka dam, making three holes in the metal to see if the Dnieper's water could be raised enough to stymie Russian crossings but not flood nearby villages.
The test was a success, Kovalchuk said, but the step remained a last resort. He held off.
So the Ukrainians believed the "water could be raised enough" to create a natural roadblock for Russian forces.
So who exactly blew up the dam? Well, the Ukrainians say it's obviously Russian terrorism, whereas the Russians denied it and emphasized, "It will not prevent our military from defending the left [southern] bank."
In the end, with two corrupt nations seeking to blow things up, I fear we'll never learn.
Like the Nord Stream detonation, I do know one entity that stands to gain though!
