Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-appointed governor of occupied Kherson, said the floods “worked in a way that operationally and tactically benefited the Russian forces,” Sky News reported.

Volodymyr Saldo says that people are moving through the streets, and Kherson is floodedPhoto: video shooting

Blaming Ukraine for the disaster, he said: “Our armed forces now have an open space in front of them through which they can see who is trying to cross the Dnieper and how they are going to do it. It will be impossible for them [forțele ucrainene] pass through the Kakhov reservoir, if they try.”

Michael Kofman, director of the Russian studies program at the American think tank CNA, expressed doubts that the destruction of the dam would have a “significant impact on Ukraine’s military operations”, reports The Guardian.

“The Kakhovka Dam is at least 100 miles away from where most of the offensive at the closest point could take place,” he tweeted.

According to him, the likelihood that Ukraine would attempt a risky operation to cross the river was always low, and “there is no evidence” that such a plan was implemented.

“The operation to cross the Ukrainian river in the south of Kherson below the dam has always been a risky and therefore unlikely prospect. There is no evidence that such an operation was carried out or that it was necessarily part of Ukrainian offensive plans,” concludes Kofman.

Even the destruction of the dam had not significantly reduced the Russian lines, he added, and the flood would likely destroy the first line of Russian defensive trenches.

Moscow controls the eastern bank of the Dnieper, and Ukrainian troops are deployed on its right bank.

Instead, General Mark Gertling, the former commander of US forces in Europe, offered a heated response on Tuesday after the Novaya Kakhovka dam was blown up, saying it would have serious consequences for the Ukrainian offensive.

“Part of the Nova Kakhovka dam has been destroyed/collapsed. The flood from the Dnipro to the Black Sea will also affect Bug and Ingulets. The flood will also affect the strip of Russian defense lines, as well as the potential for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to ford the river, the supply lines and the future offensive on Kherson,” the American general wrote on his page. Twitterallegedly hinting that he believes Ukraine will launch its long-awaited offensive in this southern region of the country.

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