NYT: Satellites detected explosion at Kakhovka dam shortly before collapse

U.S. spy satellites detected an explosion at the Kakhovka dam just before it collapsed on June 6, the New York Times (NYT) wrote on June 9, citing a senior U.S. official.

According to the NYT, the satellites, equipped with infrared sensors, detected a heat signature consistent with a major explosion.

The official said that, while there is no solid evidence about who is responsible for the destruction, U.S. intelligence analysts suspect Russia.

Experts interviewed by the NYT on June 7 presented an enclosed internal blast as the most plausible explanation for the dam's breach.

Ukraine's authorities reported shortly after the explosion on June 6 that Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka hydropower plant. An alleged call between Russian soldiers intercepted by Ukrainian intelligence services on June 9 supposedly confirms Moscow's complicity.

The U.S. government has so far refused to say conclusively who is responsible for the Kakhovka disaster but asserted that Russia ultimately bears blame as it was in control of the dam.

Satellite images show massive flooding of Ukraine’s south

Satellite images shared by Planet Labs show the massive extent of the damage caused by the breach of the Kakhovka dam on June 6.

The Kyiv IndependentMartin Fornusek