U.Okay. officers: Russia shifting forces to oppose Ukrainian offensive after dam explosion

Russia has begun shifting troops from the jap financial institution of the Dnieper River to the Zaporizhzhia and Bakhmut areas of occupied Ukraine, the place intense combating is ongoing as Kyiv makes an attempt to interrupt via the entrance traces and recapture territory misplaced to Moscow.

The redeployment of Russia’s Dnieper Group of Forces seemingly displays the Kremlin’s perception {that a} Ukrainian assault throughout the Dnieper River is more and more unlikely following the June 6 collapse of the Kakhovka Dam and the ensuing flooding, British officers stated Monday.

“This potentially involves several thousand troops from the 49th Army, including its 34th Separate Motorized Brigade, as well as Airborn Forces (VDV) and Naval Infantry units,” UK intelligence officers tweeted of their newest battlefield evaluation.

Russia denied duty for what occurred on the Kahkovka Dam and accused Ukraine of inflicting the breach with a missile or artillery assault. But an investigation by The New York Times concluded that Moscow is the almost certainly perpetrator.

Because the dam was constructed in the course of the Soviet period, the Kremlin had quick access to its blueprints and knew the place it was most weak: a passageway that runs via the concrete coronary heart of the construction, the newspaper stated.

“If your objective is to destroy the dam itself, a large explosion would be required,” Michael W. West, a geotechnical engineer and professional in dam security, advised The New York Times. “The [passageway] is an ideal place to put that explosive charge.”

The destruction of the Kakhovka Dam and its hydroelectric plant has induced widespread flooding throughout southern Ukraine, washing away houses and destroying sanitation and sewage methods. It has left tens of hundreds of individuals with out entry to contemporary water, United Nations officers stated.