Zelensky: If Russia blows up Kakhovka dam, it will be war declaration to whole world

Any attempt by Russian forces to blow up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, flooding Ukrainian territory and dewatering the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant would mean that Russia is “declaring war on the whole world,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky.

"Think what will happen to you then," he said, addressing Russia's leadership.

Zelensky's warning comes after General Sergey Surovikin, head of Russian forces in Ukraine, said Kyiv planned to flood the area below the Kakhovka power plant, according to Russian state-controlled news outlet RIA Novosti.

During his report to Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on Nov. 10, Surovikin proposed a retreat of Russian troops from the west bank of the Dnipro River where Kherson seats; Shoigu approved it.

On Oct. 22, the Institute for the Study of War reported that Russia would likely try to blow up the dam at the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant to cover its withdrawal and "prevent Ukraine's forces from pursuing Russian forces deeper into Russian-occupied Kherson Oblast."