US Media Wages Disinformation Campaign Regarding Kakhovka HPP — Russian Ambassador

"There are many insinuations about the fact that Russia allegedly has blown up the most important infrastructure facility," Anatoly Antonov said

Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov Anton Novoderzhkin/TASS

© Anton Novoderzhkin/TASS

WASHINGTON, June 8. /TASS/. The US media has launched a targeted campaign regarding the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant in an attempt to shift the Ukrainian responsibility on Russia and to ‘whitewash’ the Kiev regime, Russian Ambassador to the United States Anatoly Antonov told journalists on Thursday.

"There is a targeted disinformation campaign going on in the US media around the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant," he said.

"There are many insinuations about the fact that Russia allegedly has blown up the most important infrastructure facility," Antonov continued. "Administration officials have framed their rhetoric as if the Russian Federation were in any case responsible for all incidents that occur during the Ukrainian conflict."

"Such an approach does not stand up to scrutiny. This is another desperate attempt to "whitewash" the Kiev regime, which deliberately shelled the station for many months," the Russian ambassador stated.

According to Antonov, "We have witnessed yet another gross violation of International humanitarian law by Ukraine."

"A terrorist attack that led to an ecological disaster, large-scale flooding of settlements and farmland. Endangered the functioning of the North Crimean Canal," he continued. "Experts have yet to assess the imminent consequences for the cooling circuit of the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant as a result of this tragedy."

"Washington patrons never criticize Kiev. All actions of the regime are approved of, while any strikes, that Russians suffer from, are encouraged," Antonov noted. "This is a textbook example of an ill-conceived, flawed position that has already caused serious upheavals in the world. However, this is obviously not enough for the United States, and terrorist acts of Ukraine will receive further support."

"According to the American logic, the main idea is not to slow down assistance to Kiev. Ensure its illusory victory. Not only military specialists, but also political technologists are apparently involved in the United States to solve this problem," the Russian ambassador added.

On June 6, Ukrainian forces delivered a strike on the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP), presumably from an Olkha multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). The shelling destroyed the hydraulic sluice valves at the HPP’s dam, triggering an uncontrolled discharge of water.

In Novaya Kakhovka, the water level exceeded 12 meters at one point, but is now receding. There are currently 15 population centers in the flood zone; residents of nearby towns and villages are being evacuated.

The collapse of the hydro plant's dam has caused serious environmental damage. Farmlands along the Dnieper River have been washed away, and there is a risk that the North Crimean Canal will become shallow.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov described the attack on the Kakhovka HPP as a deliberate act of sabotage by Ukraine. He added that the Kiev regime should bear full responsibility for the consequences.