An intercepted phone call reveals a Russian subversion group blew up the dam of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station to blackmail Ukraine by causing a man-made disaster.

In the audio recording, published on Friday by Ukraine’s security service, SBU, two Russian soldiers can be heard discussing the dam’s collapse.

"It’s not them [Ukrainians] who hit it. It was our sabotage group. They wanted to scare [Ukrainians] with this dam," one is heard as saying. "It went not as planned, but more than they planned."

"It was ours [Russians] who did it, not them [Ukrainians]," he adds.

The Russian serviceman also describes the aftermath of the explosion, including the rising water levels, flooding, and the destruction that ensued.

Earlier, the SBU opened a criminal investigation into the blowing up of the Nova Kakhovka dam.

Russia blew up the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant overnight on Tuesday, leading to the breach of the dam and unleashing floodwater across the downstream area.

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