Truck with explosives was seen at Kakhovka dam a few days before explosion – AP

russia had the motive, opportunity and means to blow up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant, and a russian truck packed with explosives was spotted at the dam a few days before the explosion.

Source. This is stated in an investigation by the Associated Press.

Sources among the Ukrainian military said that the destruction of the Kakhovka HPP disrupted part of the plans to capture russian positions during the counteroffensive. russian dictator putin has also said that the destruction of the plant prevented the Ukrainian army's counteroffensive. Thus, the agency emphasizes, russia had a motive.

russia had the means, motive and opportunity to bring down a Ukrainian dam that collapsed earlier this month while under russian control, according to exclusive drone photos and information obtained by @AP. https://t.co/ao2UEjWvfT

– The Associated Press (@AP) June 18, 2023

For several months, the Kakhovka HPP was completely controlled from the inside and outside by russian soldiers. A few days before the big explosion registered by seismologists before the dam collapsed, Ukrainian drones filmed dozens of russian soldiers stationed on the banks of the Dnieper River. They walked alongside the dam without any cover, and were apparently confident that they were in full control of the area.

Footage taken by a Ukrainian drone on May 28 and obtained by AP shows a truck parked on the dam. Its roof is neatly cut off, and there are large barrels inside. According to the newspaper, one of the barrels apparently had a landmine attached to it, and a cable was running to the russian-controlled side of the river. It is unclear how long the vehicle was on the dam.

A Ukrainian special forces liaison officer told AP that the vehicle appeared to be packed with explosives, and its placement at this point could have had two purposes: to stop any Ukrainian advance on the dam and to amplify the planned explosion in the engine room and destroy the upper part of the dam. This vehicle with explosives alone would not have been enough to destroy the dam.

Background. On Saturday, the New York Times reported, citing experts and its own analysis, that the explosion at the Kakhovka HPP dam occurred inside, and that external shelling would not have caused such a catastrophe.

Moreover, the explosion was most likely deliberate: it occurred in the most vulnerable part of the structure – the tunnel that runs underwater through the concrete base of the plant and leads to the engine room.