Putin blamed the Ukrainian side for the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station

The Ukrainian side is guilty of the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, it sought to do this, declared Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting with war correspondents on June 13.

“Who is guilty is clear. The Ukrainian side was striving for this. You know, I’m not 100 percent going to say things that I’m not sure about right now. By and large, we did not record large explosions before the destruction occurred. At least, that’s what I was told. But they purposefully hit the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station repeatedly with HIMARS – that’s the whole point. Maybe they had some bookmark there, I don’t know now, maybe they once again added something insignificant, and destruction began,” Putin said.

As the head of state noted, Russia is definitely not interested in this, since it entailed grave consequences for those territories “which we control and which are Russian.”

“Unfortunately,” I will say a strange thing, but nevertheless, “unfortunately, this thwarted their counteroffensive in this direction. Unfortunately – why? Because it would be better if they were advancing there. It’s better for us, because it would be very bad for them to attack there. But since such a spill occurred, then, accordingly, the offensive did not take place, ”Putin said.

Earlier today, Acting Governor of the Kherson region Volodymyr Saldo informedthat the flooding in the region as a result of the destruction of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station is weakening, the water level has decreased in Aleshki and Gola Pristan. According to Saldo, 107 people were evacuated over the past day, 7,200 since the beginning of the flooding, including 421 children and 123 people with limited mobility.

1700 people were resettled in temporary accommodation centers, 84 were hospitalized. informed Andrey Alekseenko, Chairman of the Regional Government.

The breakthrough of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station occurred on the night of June 6. As a result of the destruction, an uncontrolled discharge of water began, the level of rise reached more than 11 m. Initially, the state of emergency was introduced on the territory of the district adjacent to the HPP, and then spread to the entire Kherson region. Alekseenko earlier appreciated damage from the consequences of the destruction of hydroelectric power plants in the amount of 11.5 billion rubles. – at the same time, such a figure, according to him, “may be far from final.”

Putin June 7 named the undermining of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station by the barbaric action of Kyiv, which led to a large-scale environmental and humanitarian catastrophe. June 10 balance informedthat the head of state keeps the situation in the Kherson region under constant control after the destruction of the dam of the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station, regularly taking an interest in what is happening.

Saldo said that Putin instructed him to collect and transmit the most complete data on the situation with flooding, to provide residents of the region with all the necessary assistance, both moral and material, including those related to the restoration of damaged housing.