The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Tuesday described the destruction of the New Kakhovka dam as one of the most serious attacks against civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, which could constitute a war crime.
The ICRC recalled that “dams have special protection” and this is “one of the most significant damage to civil infrastructure since February 2022” – the date on which the Russian Army launched its military offensive in Ukraine – and is already evaluating the consequences of the attack.
“Tens of thousands of people on both sides of the Dnipro River are already suffering from life-threatening flooding,” the ICRC stressed.
According to the Red Cross, international law provides special protection for hydrological infrastructures such as dams, either because of their special relevance in basic supply [água e eletricidade]or because of the risk that its destruction may represent for the surrounding areas.
According to the ICRC, the destruction of dams may constitute a war crime.
Customary international humanitarian law (IHL) includes this type of infrastructure within “works and installations containing dangerous forces” and for which special vigilance is required, as is the case with nuclear power plants.
In fact, the protocols incorporated in 1977 to the Geneva Conventions (1949) warn that “launching an attack against works or installations containing dangerous forces knowing that such an attack will cause excessive loss of life, injury to civilians or damage to property of a civilian”. nature” constitutes a grave violation of international law.
Thus, dams or nuclear power plants are protected against attacks – “even if they are military objectives” – that can cause “dangerous forces” and, therefore, “serious losses among the civilian population.”
Ukrainian authorities today accused Russian troops of blowing up the dam at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station and asked residents of areas along the Dnipro river in southern Ukraine to leave their homes.
The Southern Command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces advanced the destruction of the infrastructure, 60 kilometers from the city of Kherson, and indicated that it is investigating the magnitude of the damage, as well as the speed and amount of water that should affect the surrounding areas. .
The head of the Kherson Regional Military Administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said, in a video posted on the Telegram platform, shortly before 07:00 (05:00 in Lisbon), that “the Russian army committed another act of terror.” and warned that the water should reach “critical levels” in five hours.
The Ukrainian Interior Ministry has asked residents of 10 villages on the right bank of the Dnipro River and parts of the city of Kherson to gather essential documents and pets, turn off electrical appliances and leave their homes.
Images that circulate on social networks, and that appear to be from a surveillance camera, with a view of the dam, show a light source, an explosion and the collapse of the dam.
Source: TSF
