Neeraj Rajput
A new but a dangerous dimension has added to the 15 month long bloody Ukraine-Russia war. This dimension is unconventional warfare which has come to light after the attack on Kakhovka Dam which can have long lasting human and environmental consequences. Both Russia and Ukraine are accusing each other of blowing up the hydroelectric reservoir leading to massive floods in the Kherson region.
On the early morning of 6th June, Kakhovka dam which maintains the huge reservoir of 2155 sq kms on the Dnieper river was attacked–most likely by mining the dam. Russia was quick to blame Ukraine for a ‘terrorist act’ as the dam and reservoir is now part of Moscow controlled territory though Kherson town, which is 100 kms from the dam, is now re-captured by Ukrainian forces.
“We strongly condemn the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (KHP) by the Ukrainian armed forces. This is a terrorist act” said the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement after the attack on the dam leading to flooding in large areas.
Russian Defence Minister Sergey Shoigu accused Ukraine of blasting the dam “since the offensive of the enemy (Ukraine) was not succeeding and intended to redeploy troops and equipment from the Kherson area to the zone of planned offensive.” From the past couple of days Ukraine has been on counter-offensive mode and made at least half a dozen attacks on the Russian defences at multiple locations. Armed with newly supplied tanks, armoured vehicles, missiles and other weaponry from US, UK and other NATO countries, Ukraine is now retaliating against Russian attacks. From the past 15 months when war had started on 24th Feb last year (‘22) Ukraine was in defensive mode but now has decided to take Russia head-on.
Ukraine has alleged Russia was behind the attack on the dam which was under the control of Russian armed forces. “Russian terrorists have once again proved that they are a threat to everything living. The destruction of one of the largest water reservoirs in Ukraine is absolutely deliberate. At least 100 thousand people lived in these areas before the Russian invasion. At least tens of thousands are still there. Hundreds of thousands of people have been left without normal access to drinking water”, said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. But Ukraine has shown inability to help local people.
“Our services, all those who can help people, are already involved. But we can only help on the territory controlled by Ukraine. On the part occupied by Russia, the occupiers are not even trying to help people”, said Zelenskyy.
KHP was built in the mid-50s during the USSR era for irrigation and drinking purposes. Reservoir is 140 Km long and 23 Kms in width on the Dnieper River. Pictures and videos of the flooded towns and villages have emerged since the dam was damaged. While the north bank of the river is controlled by Russia, the south is still under Ukraine. Although it’s still not clear who attacked the dam, the possibility of movement of troops from either side (Russia or Ukraine) and as such mining of the dam to restrict movement of each other can’t be ruled out fully. Because the reservoir is almost a sea with its huge size and as such crossings of troops from one bank to other can be possible from this dam itself.
While Russia has raised the attack on the dam in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), Zelenskyy held a virtual meeting with NATO countries on the issue. Zelensky even feared its effect on Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant which is 150 kms away but IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) has allayed fears and said the plant can be cooled by alternative sources.
But what is more worrying is such attacks can lead the war into an unconventional domain–sabotage, guerilla fight, quasi-military operations or even terrorist attacks. For the past 15 months, the war between the two neighbouring countries was fought in the conventional (traditional) domain. That too was largely non-contact warfare with long range weapons like guided missiles, rockets, artillery guns or drones (UAVs)–in few places though some direct fight was also witnessed like in the Azov Steel plant in Mariupol during the initial months of war.
The Russian province of Belgorod adjoining Ukraine’s Kharkiv (Kharkova) is already witnessing multiple attacks in the residential areas by a group called ‘Legion of Russia’ which has support of the Kiev regime. This group, which consists of Russians who are against Putin’s policies, is even using weapons and vehicles supplied to Ukraine by America.
Russia-Ukraine border in Belgorod also has a huge reservoir under the control of Moscow. Author himself had visited this reservoir last year when went to Russia and Donbass for war-coverage. If any damage is caused to this reservoir like Kakhovka dam then it can sweep almost the whole of Belgorod city and adjoining areas.
But these are perils of long drawn war that the losing side resort to non-conventional warfare like destroying dams, sporadic terrorist attacks on innocent citizens or blast at places of prominence. Drone attack on Russian President’s official residence at Kremlin last month can also be termed as non-conventional warfare.
Though there were apprehensions about sabotage in the month of September last year when the Nord-Stream natural gas pipeline had exploded in the Baltic Sea. Intel reports shared by US media recently however have made clear that Washington was well aware that the attack on Nord-Stream was by the Ukrainian agents. Nord-Stream is an under sea pipeline which supplies natural gas to Germany from Russia.
Less than 48 hrs after the Kakhovka dam breach incident, an ammonia pipeline was destroyed in shelling in the Kharkiv region. Both Russia and Ukraine have blamed each other for this attack too. This pipeline runs from the port of Odessa to Tolyatti, a city in western Russia. It is the same Odessa town where the statue of Catherine The Great, the empress of the Russian empire in the 18th century was removed by Ukraine about six months ago.
The Queen, Catherine is still revered in the whole of Russia for her enlightenment ideas and building the towns of Kherson and Sevastopol (Crimea’s biggest town housing Russia’s Black Sea fleet) besides establishing Moscow as one of the great powers in Europe during the late mediaeval period. With damage to Kakhovka dam the water supply to Crimea can be disturbed as a canal connects the reservoir to the peninsula, which until 2014 was under Ukraine but captured by Russia in a bloodless battle.
The author is a Senior War-journalist having more than two decades of multimedia experience with specialization in defense, conflict, security, strategic affairs & geopolitics. His book on Russia-Ukraine war, ‘Operation Z Live’ in Hindi has just been released.
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