Kakhovka HPP dam is most likely blown up from inside

The New York Times reported this with reference to engineering and munitions experts.

According to the experts, there is evidence to suggest that the dam's destruction was caused by an explosion from the inside. According to them, a structural failure or an attack from the outside is possible, but is a less plausible explanation. 

“A blast in an enclosed space, with all of its energy applied against the structure around it, would do the most damage. Even then, the experts said, it would require hundreds of pounds of explosives, at least, to breach the dam. An external detonation by bomb or missile would exert only a fraction of its force against the dam, and would require an explosive many times larger to achieve a similar effect,” the publication writes. 

The NYT reminds that Ukraine immediately claimed that the dam had been blown up from the inside. Instead, the Russian occupation authorities in the Kherson region gave contradictory comments, and the Kremlin claimed deliberate sabotage by the Ukrainian side.

Nick Glumac, an engineering professor and explosives expert at the University of Illinois, said the amount of explosives a warhead can carry is limited. According to him, even a direct hit might not destroy the dam.

• On Tuesday, June 6, occupying Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. Evacuations of residents of dangerous areas began, and the President of Ukraine convened an emergency meeting of the Security and Defense Council, as flooding threatens 80 settlements.

• The head of the Kherson Regional Council, Oleksandr Samoilenko, said that the Russian troops blew up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, and around 11 a.m. the water will reach a critical level.

• According to Operational Command South's press center head, the Russian forces blew up part of the structure and are using the blackmail card to put pressure on the Defense Forces and Ukraine as a whole, no longer having the strength to wait for the counteroffensive to come from.

• Natalia Humeniuk also spoke about the possibility of blowing up the hydroelectric power plant from the inside. According to her, by blowing up the Kakhovka HPP, the invading forces are trying to stop the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive.