Petro Poroshenko, Ukraine’s former president told CNN Wednesday that the Nova Kakhovka dam collapse in the Kherson region is a “catastrophe” for Ukraine. He said, “We are hit in the heart, and this is the biggest man-made catastrophe in the 21st century.”
Speaking from Kyiv, Poroshenko told CNN’s Kate Bolduan that artillery trucks will be heading to the south to the brigade that is now in the “process for finishing preparation for the counteroffensive operation.”
He said it’s possible the dam disaster was created by Russia to stop a counteroffensive, but Ukrainian troops would not be stopped from carrying it out. He added that it’s creating a disaster for the civilians but not for the troops. “Nothing can stop Ukrainian troops,” he said.
Looking at his watch, Poroshenko said the counteroffensive “will start within hours,” adding “within hours, not days, but hours.” CNN cannot independently verify this.
What Ukraine’s allies are saying: US and Western officials see signs that Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia is beginning and have noted a “substantial increase in fighting” in the east of the country over the last 48 hours as Ukrainian troops probe for weaknesses in Russian defensive lines, a senior NATO official said on Tuesday.
Some more context: A major dam and hydroelectric power plant in Russian-occupied southern Ukraine was destroyed early Tuesday, prompting mass evacuations and fears for large-scale devastation as Kyiv and Moscow blamed each other. Ukraine accused Moscow’s forces of committing an act of “ecocide.” The Kremlin denied involvement and accused Ukraine of “deliberate sabotage” of the dam.
The dam is a critical piece of infrastructure: It supplies water for much of southeastern Ukraine, including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, and the Crimean peninsula.
CNN’s Natasha Bertrand, Alex Marquardt, Jim Sciutto and Jennifer Hansler contributed to this post.
