Putin claims Ukraine deliberately hit Kakhovka dam with HIMARS rockets

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday (June 13) that he believed Ukraine was responsible for the breach last week of the Kakhovka dam. While speaking during a televised meeting of Russian war correspondents and military bloggers, Putin said that the damage has been caused by Kyiv shelling the structure with HIMARS missile systems, which were supplied by the United States.

Putin said, "They used HIMARS rockets deliberately and many times to hit Kakhovka dam - that's the point. Maybe they had some kind of plant there. I don't know."

He added, "Maybe they added something insignificant once again - and destruction began. As we understand - we are not interested in this (Kakhovka dam destruction) for sure, because there are harsh consequences for territories we control and that are Russian."

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The hydroelectric dam was ripped open earlier this month after a reported blast and in the aftermath, Moscow and Kyiv have traded blame for the attack, which caused tensions as the Kakhovka dam sits on the Dnipro River which feeds a reservoir providing cooling water for the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power station.

Thousands of civilians were forced to flee the flooded areas while raising fears of an ecological disaster after the destruction of the dam caused torrents of water to pour into the Dnipro.

Same as Ukrainian officials, Putin also mentioned that rescue efforts were continuing in flooded areas of Kherson under Russian control as he said that the Russian Emergencies Ministry has been working there.

Putin said that military and local authorities are also doing rescue work. He said, "I've recently talked to the acting head of the Kherson region (Russian-controlled Ukraine territory) Vladimir Saldo. He said they were surprised. Because they had never seen such collaborative work (in Kherson)".

Putin speaks about recent border attacks

Putin said Moscow could have more successfully readied southern regions of the country bordering Ukraine for cross-border attacks from Ukrainian territory. He referred to the recent cross-border attacks on Russia's southern region of Belgorod and said that "of course, there is nothing good in this".

Putin added, "But, in principle, one could have assumed that the enemy would behave this way, and one could have prepared better."

Speaking further, Putin said that there was no need to follow Ukraine's example and declare martial law, but he added that the nation must fight enemy agents and improve its defences against attacks deep inside its own territory.

Watch:Kyiv claims to retaken ground from Russian forces

Ukraine's losses close to 'catastrophic'

Putin claimed that Ukraine was suffering massive losses in its highly touted counter-offensive against Russian positions in Ukraine.

"Their losses are approaching a level that could be described as catastrophic," Putin said during a meeting.

Russia to ditch grain deal?

Putin also said that Russia was considering withdrawing from the Black Sea grain deal because the West had cheated Moscow by implementing none of the promises to get Russian agricultural goods to world markets.

"We are thinking about getting out of this grain deal now. Unfortunately, we were once again cheated - nothing was done in terms of liberalising the supply of our grain to foreign markets. There were a lot of conditions that the Westerners had to fulfil under the leadership of the UN," he said.

"Nothing has been done," Putin added.

The grain deal is crucial as it allowed Ukraine to resume seaborne grain exports was brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July last year to help tackle a global food crisis.

Disclaimer: A number of claims and counterclaims are being made on the Ukraine-Russia conflict on the ground and online. While WION takes utmost care to accurately report this developing news story, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.

(With inputs from agencies)

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