Russian forces may blow up the Svatove Reservoir dam in Luhansk Oblast, Ukraine’s National Resistance Center reported on Jan. 7.
According to the center, a Russian engineering and sapper unit has arrived in temporarily occupied Svatove “to examine the possibility of blowing up the dam.”
Russian forces may also use the potential detonation of the dam as an “excuse to deport the local population” and attempt to accuse Ukraine of blowing up the dam, the National Resistance Center wrote.
“Such actions are a deliberate destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure and are not expedient because they do not change the position of forces at the frontlines,” the reported stated.
Svatove has become a focal point of Russia’s defense of occupied Luhansk Oblast alongside Kreminna.
The U.K. Defense Ministry reported on Nov. 21 that Svatove had become a vulnerable flank of Russian troops as they were facing the challenge of retaining a reliable defense in the sector while trying to resource offensive operations in Donetsk Oblast.
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