Ukraine charges Russian general over Kakhovka dam destruction

Russian Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, the former commander of the Dnieper group of forces, is suspected of ordering the destruction of the occupied Kakhovka dam last year, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said on June 6.

Russian troops blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and the adjacent dam in Kherson Oblast on June 6, 2023, causing a large-scale humanitarian and environmental disaster across southern Ukraine.

The floods caused by the breach killed over 30 people in Ukrainian-held territories and between dozens and hundreds more in the Russian-occupied areas.

At least tens of thousands of people were affected by the floods, while hundreds of thousands were left without access to clean drinking water. The breach also resulted in extensive damage to the environment and agriculture.

Critical infrastructure facilities were destroyed, and the draining of the Kakhovka Reservoir upstream from the dam threatened the operation of the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

Makarevich was charged with violating the laws and customs of war and premeditated murder by a group of persons based on evidence collected by the SBU and the Prosecutor General's Office.

If captured and convicted, the general faces life in prison.

"The SBU is making every effort to identify and bring to justice all those involved in crimes against Ukraine," the SBU's statement read.

Looking back at the Khakhovka Dam explosion one year later (Photos)

When Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Dam on June 6, 2023, they changed the landscape of southern Ukraine permanently. The breach unleashed nearly 20 cubic kilometers of water from the Kakhovka reservoir, a massive body of freshwater spanning three oblasts. Water levels in sever…

The Kyiv IndependentIrynka Hromotska