The US stated on Tuesday that it was “not certain” who was to blame for a dam breach in Ukraine, but it would make no sense for Ukraine to do this to its own people and territory, as Kyiv and Moscow accused each other of the tragedy.
The 15-member United Nations Security Council convened on Tuesday at the request of both Russia and Ukraine, following the breach of a large dam on the Dnipro River that separates opposing forces in southern Ukraine.
When asked if the US knew who was to blame, Deputy US Ambassador to the UN, Robert Wood, told reporters before the council meeting: “We’re not certain at all, we hope to have more information in the coming days.”
“But, I mean, come on … why would Ukraine do this to its own territory and people, flood its land, force tens of thousands of people to leave their homes – it doesn’t make sense,” Wood said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said earlier on Tuesday that the world body did not have any independent information on how the dam burst, but described it as “another devastating consequence of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
During Tuesday’s discussion, several Security Council members stated that the crisis would not have developed if Russia had not invaded neighbouring Ukraine in February last year.
Without presenting proof, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused Ukraine of attempting to create “favourable opportunities” to regroup its armed formations to conduct a counter-offensive.
“The deliberate sabotage undertaken by Kyiv against a critical infrastructure facility is extremely dangerous and can essentially be classified as a war crime or an act of terrorism,” Nebenzia told the council.
Ukraine’s UN Ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya accused Russia of a “terrorist act against Ukrainian critical infrastructure,” without providing evidence.
“It is physically impossible to blow it up somehow from the outside by shelling – it was mined by the Russian occupiers and they blew it up,” Kyslytsya said.
UN aid chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council that “the sheer magnitude of the catastrophe will only become fully realized in the coming days.”
“But it’s already clear that it will have grave and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine on both sides of the front line through the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods,” he added.
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