Yes, this will result in massive economical and environmental damages. And all that to create a temporary water barrier for a few days and turn the area into a swamp for maybe a few weeks.

Eco terrorism. This is so extremely sad... 😥 pic.twitter.com/KH9SWWraIC

— NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) June 6, 2023

These videos show the extent of the damage after Russian forces destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Kherson Oblast on June 6th.

Video: Lashen Pish/Telegram pic.twitter.com/ndKU54jwDS

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 6, 2023

Ukraine's Southern Operational Command reported early on June 6 that Russian forces blew up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant.
Video: war_monitor pic.twitter.com/CrkB3DCcmy

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) June 6, 2023

I also think Russians do not care about local population. So they won’t evacuate properly.

Lives will be shattered, villages and houses destroyed.

Also, there are reports that flood water detonates mines. Allegedly this video is shot today on the Russian occupied side. 2/ pic.twitter.com/ziodZbJj8W

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) June 6, 2023

Animals will die, ecosystems destroyed, local economy devastated.

This is Russia as is.

There is little military advantage. Russia is loosing and wants to destroy everything in its way. They have flooded their own lines of defense on the left bank. I hope they are leaving 3x

— Tymofiy Mylovanov (@Mylovanov) June 6, 2023

Росія здатна лише руйнувати та вбивати. І не зупиниться ні перед чим. Підрив Каховської ГЕС — черговий доказ цього і міжнародний злочин. Сьогодні загнані в кут окупанти вбивають та лишають без домівок тисячі людей, яких ще вчора хотіли «інтегрувати до рф». Людожерська тактика… pic.twitter.com/PHpqSqM4K6

— Andriy Kostin (@AndriyKostinUa) June 6, 2023

Andriy Kostin, the prosecutor general of Ukraine, has issued a strong statement after the destruction of the Kakhovskaya HPP, which Ukrhydroenergo claims was destroyed by an explosion from inside the turbine hall. Kostin tweeted:

"Russia can only destroy and kill. And will stop at nothing. Blowing up the Kakhovskaya HPP is another proof of this and an international crime. Today, the cornered occupiers are killing and leaving thousands of people homeless, whom they wanted to “integrate into the Russian Federation” just yesterday. Cannibalistic “scorched earth” tactics worthy of Hitler. Anyone who still thinks that it is possible to talk about something with an aggressor should remember the streams of dirty water that wash away the homes of people who were sleeping peacefully. The end of the criminal Russian regime can only be one – defeat and a tribunal."

Russkiy mir...

Russia isn't a country, it's a terrorist group.

Sounds like at minimum it was Russian negligence but it was likely Russia who did it.

All for what? Maybe so Russia could move their troops away and to other frontlines? Maybe they thought Ukraine was preparing an amphibious assault? The latter was extremely unlikely and now Ukraine will just move its Kherson forces to other fronts as well. There was very low chance that Ukraine would have done an assault in Kherson direction because of how incredibly high risk it would have been.

Kherson City gets moved further away from Russian artillery, more of Russian held territory gets flooded than Ukrainian held territory, oh and they've doomed the water supply to Crimea. All main cities in Russian controlled Kherson except Skadovk's are along the river. Kherson City on Ukraine side has to evacuate 16,000 citizens and will provide a temporary distraction for Ukraine.

Was this just to shorten the defensive line and buy a little extra time? It feels like a massive panic move or a scorched Earth move because they know they're fucked. Nothing says "we're here to liberate people" like blowing up a massive dam and flooding a massive portion of the place you're "liberating" and ruining the lives of thousands. Entire villages gone. Wheat production ruined even further.

Everyone "liberated" in Crimea is now fucked for fresh water too but hey Russia is "helping" them.

It's a civilian catastrophe, it's an ecological disaster, but it is of little tactical benefit so this is pure and simply a major terrorist act. Thousands of homes will be flooded, livelihoods ruined, an ecological disaster which will take years to recover from, environments destroyed. This is a war crime on the highest level and the West needs to respond, send Ukraine whatever the fuck they're asking for and increase the damn sanctions.

Approve ATACMS. Approve F-16s. Send Taurus and SCALP. Everything.

When will we start to fully hold Russia to account? Do they have to nuke Ukraine? Fuck this country, enact the worst sanctions possible on them.

I hope for as long as I live that I never see the West resume normal relations with Russia.

Wish I could see the day of a Storm Shadow being dropped on the Kremlin with Putin inside.

​The governor of the Kherson region, Oleksandr Prokudin, said that about 16,000 people were in the "critical zone" on the Ukrainian-controlled right bank of the river. He said people were being evacuated for districts upstream of Kherson city and would be taken to bus to the city and then by train to Mykolaiv, and to other Ukrainian cities, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi, and Kyiv.​

The disaster happened on the second day of Ukrainian offensive operations likely to mark the early stages of a mass counteroffensive. It could affect any Ukrainian plans for an amphibious assault across the river.​

"The purpose is obvious: to create insurmountable obstacles on the way of the advancing [Ukrainian army] … to slow down the fair final of the war," a Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter. "On a vast territory, all life will be destroyed; many settlements will be ruined; colossal damage will be done to the environment."​

"The purpose is obvious: to create insurmountable obstacles on the way of the advancing [Ukrainian army] … to slow down the fair final of the war," a Ukrainian presidential adviser, Mikhailo Podolyak, said on Twitter. "On a vast territory, all life will be destroyed; many settlements will be ruined; colossal damage will be done to the environment."​

David Helms, a former US air force and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration meteorologist who has monitored the dam said on Twitter: "The Russians allowed the reservoir to fill to record levels; if the dam failed "naturally", it certainly failed due to 6 weeks of over-topping and stress on the structure."​

The areas most under threat of flooding are the islands along the course of the Dnipro downstream of Nova Kakhovka and much of the Russian-held left bank in southern Kherson. Earlier modelling of such a disaster suggested Kherson city would not take the brunt of the flood, but the harbour, the docklands and an island in the south of the city are likely to be inundated. It is unclear how many people would lose their homes.​

There could be two further dramatic side effects, the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant upstream could lose access to water for cooling as the reservoir drains away, and the water supply to Crimea could also be severely affected.​
​
Four of the six reactors at the nuclear plant are completely shut down, and two are on "hot shutdown", producing a small amount of energy for the plant itself and the neighbouring town.​
​
The International Atomic Energy Agency said in a tweet it was aware of the reports and that its experts at the plant were monitoring the situation. It added there was "no immediate nuclear safety risk at plant".

The Guardian

They forgot to mention the 30 Bradleys, 7 Challenger 2, 20 Marder and 200 T72 they destroyed yesterday...

Not sure if Leo 2s are even involved already...