It is physically impossible to destroy Kakhovka HPP by shelling, it was blown up by the occupiers - Zelensky

Russian troops controlled the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant for more than a year, and it was they who committed a terrorist attack by blowing up the hydroelectric power plant. It is physically impossible to blow up this facility from the outside, during shelling."

This was stated by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy during his address to the participants of the Bucharest Nine Summit, which includes Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic.

Thus, the Ukrainian leader refuted the Russian propaganda narratives about the alleged involvement of our country in the hydroelectric power plant disaster.

– For more than a year, Russia has been controlling this dam and the entire Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant. And it is physically impossible to blow it up somehow from the outside, by shelling. It was mined. It was mined by the Russian occupiers. And they blew it up, – the head of state emphasized.

He added that with this terrorist attack, Russia once again demonstrated cynicism towards the residents of the temporarily occupied territories. In addition, this crime shows what Russia is really bringing to Europe and the whole world.

Zelensky called the dam blowing up a “bomb of mass environmental damage”. He noted that the Kakhovka reservoir was a source of water for millions of people in southern Ukraine, as well as for farming and agricultural production. Now huge areas will be left without irrigation.

– And now it is even difficult to determine what the consequences for the environment will be… Russia has detonated a bomb of massive environmental damage. And this is a real ecocide! This is the largest man-made environmental disaster in Europe in decades," the president said.

He clarified that the defeat of the aggressor in the war would be the most significant contribution to the security of the region, Europe and the whole world.

The President warned that Russian revanchism is fueled by the Kremlin's belief that Europe can show weakness. This is what prompts Moscow to resort to terror, disasters, blackmail to “take control of this or that part of Europe”.

In this regard, Zelensky called for showing at the NATO summit to be held in July in Vilnius that the declared and real values of this military bloc do not differ.

– It is already worth showing that there will be no weakness in Europe. How many more disasters will it take for a terrorist state to finally see that terror is not a tool to influence NATO's decisions? Finally, it is worth determining that Ukraine will be a member of NATO, and this can only be determined by an invitation for Ukraine to join," the Head of State said.

He called for the summit to determine the algorithm of our country's accession to the bloc, as well as to formalize security guarantees for Ukraine on its way to NATO.

As you know, the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, blown up by the occupiers, is completely destroyed. It cannot be restored