SBU: SBU serves notice of suspicion to Russian general who commanded Kakhovka HPP explosion

Russian Major General Vladimir Omelyanovich is involved in the organization of the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, , according to Security Service of Ukraine. He was notified of suspicion in absentia.

Omelyanovych is the Chief of Staff and First Deputy Commander of the occupation group "Dnipro". The investigation found that on the night of June 5-6, 2023, he directly coordinated the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric dam by mine explosion.

The destruction of the hydroelectric power plant resulted in a "catastrophic water spill" that killed 35 civilians and left 24 others missing.

Also, due to the rapid spread of large volumes of water, 46 settlements in the Kherson region were flooded. In particular, 14 of the affected communities were located on the temporarily occupied territory of the region. 1,323 hectares of agricultural land, 55,000 hectares of forest, and at least 81,000 hectares of nature reserves and industrial facilities in southern Ukraine were flooded .

In addition, the dam's explosion made it impossible to supply water to Kherson, Mykolaiv, Dnipro regions and the temporarily occupied Crimea. Maintenance of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant is threatened due to disruption of the cooling system.

Based on the evidence collected, the SBU served Omelyanovych with a notice of suspicion of committing war crimes combined with premeditated murder.

• On the night of June 6, 2023, Russian invaders blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, which flooded dozens of settlements, some of which are located in the temporarily occupied territory.

• In December 2023, it was reported that at least hundreds of people were killed in the Russian-occupied territory of as a result of the explosion of the Kakhovka HPP.

• On July 18, the Cabinet of Ministers adopted a resolution on a pilot project to start rebuilding the Kakhovka HPP .
• Ukrhydroenergo CEO predicted that a swamp would form on the site of the reservoir . Environmentalists say that the reservoir will be overgrown with willow forests .
• On June 6, the SBU announced suspicion to General Makarevych, who ordered to blow up the Kakhovka HPP.