NEWS STORY : Charles Michel, President of European Council, Says Destruction of Dam in Ukraine is a War Crime

STORY

Charles Michel, the President of European Council, has said that the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka dam in Ukraine by Russian soldiers is a war crime that needs urgent investigation. Posting on Twitter, Michel said:

“Shocked by the unprecedented attack of the Nova Kakhovka dam. The destruction of civilian infrastructure clearly qualifies as a war crime – and we will hold Russia and its proxies accountable.”

The Russia Government denied that they were responsible for the destruction of the dam, but international authorities have begun an investigation into what would be a breach of the Geneva Convention. Tens of thousands of people have already been evacuated and the environmental damage is expected to be extensive and potentially last for decades.

Annalena Baerbock, the German Foreign Minister, said in a statement:

“A dam near a nuclear power plant is misused as a weapon of war and human lives are put in grave danger”.

A spokesperson for NATO said that they were beginning investigations into the incident, but said that there was no evidence for an air strike on the dam and it appeared to have been destroyed by a series of explosions. They added that Russia would have a motive for the action and that flooding would continue for the next two to three days.