Zelensky says that 80 Ukrainian towns are “under water” after the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam

The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, has blamed Russian troops for destroying with explosives the Nova Kakhovka damin the Kherson region, and has warned that some 80 towns are already “under water” for what it has described as “the biggest environmental disaster caused by Europe in decades.”

Zelenski has participated electronically in a meeting of leaders of the countries of Eastern Europe, before which he has again singled out “Russian terrorists” of the destruction of a plant that forces loyal to Moscow had controlled for more than a year.

“It is physically impossible to fly it this way from the outsideby bombing. Mines were laid,” said the Ukrainian president, who has also ruled out the hypothesis of accident or negligence. “It was a deliberate explosion. They knew exactly what they were doing,” she stressed.

Some 100,000 people lived in the area at risk before the Russian invasion and Zelensky fears “tens of thousands” are now in danger. His government has begun evacuation work in the face of the “initial consequences” of this incident.

The water reserves were also a vital source for the supply of drinking water, as well as for agricultural and livestock production, to which would also be added the consequences of an environmental nature. Kyiv has already confirmed the spill of 150 tons of motor oil.

In addition, according to a note from the Presidency, “there is a risk of a new spill of more than 300 tons“, although Zelensky’s office has not specified the origin.

“Russia has detonated a bomb of massive environmental destruction. It’s a real ecocide“, Zelenski has proclaimed, who sees in the final defeat of the Russian forces “the most significant contribution” that can be made to the security not only of the region but of “the whole world”.

In this sense, the Ukrainian president has appreciated the political support and has advocated continuing to delve into the military, with an anti-missile shield and a new coalition that allows Ukraine to have modern fighters.

For Zelenski, it is time to show that “there is no weakness in Europe“, so he hopes for some kind of practical gesture at the NATO leaders’ summit in Lithuania in July, for example with an invitation to join and clear security guarantees.