Vladimir Leontiev, the head of the Russian occupation government in Nova Kakhovka in Kherson Oblast, said that “the discharge of water has been increased over the past week, so that in the event of a negative development, the amount of water flowing downstream would be smaller," Russian newspaper Kommersant reported. The "negative development" was an apparent reference to an explosion at the Russian-occupied Kakhovka Hydropower Plant in Kherson Oblast.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Oct. 20 that Russia was planning to blow up the dam at the Kakhovka Hydropower Plant as part of a false-flag operation and blame Ukraine.
The Institute for the Study of War said on Oct. 22 that Russia is likely to “set conditions for Russian forces to damage the dam and then blame Ukraine while using the resulting floods to cover their own retreat further south into Kherson Oblast."
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