By Biodun Busari

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of scheming to blow up a dam in order to flood a large area of Kherson in southern Ukraine as its troops are forced to withdraw.

Zelensky said the enemy country plotted to do this by mining Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant upriver from Kherson.

He made this known in a night video on Thursday where he said the destruction of the dam would be disastrous to the country.  

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Zelensky said, “Destroying the dam would mean a large-scale disaster. If Russia is preparing such a terrorist attack, if it is seriously considering such a scenario, it means the terrorists are clearly aware that they will not be able to keep not only Kherson but also the entire south of our country, including Crimea.”

He then called for a “preventive response” to discourage Russia from causing what would be a humanitarian crisis for the civilian population and could also deprive the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station of the water needed to cool its reactors.

“We must now all together — all Europeans, all world leaders, all international organizations — make it clear to the terrorist state that such a terrorist attack on the Kakhovka HPP will mean exactly the same as the use of weapons of mass destruction,” he said. “The consequences for Russia should be corresponding.”