US, Ukraine behind Kakhovka dam disaster, claims North Korea researcher

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – A North Korean researcher alleged Friday that the Kakhovka dam burst was a "joint plot" by the US and Ukraine "to blame" Russia.

Ukraine, the US, and other Western countries are “basely” moving to shift all responsibilities onto Russia, according to an article published by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

O Song Jin, a researcher at the Institute of International Studies, described the Kakhovka dam burst as a “Nord Stream.”

“The case of the collapsed Kakhovka dam is, after all, nothing but another farce and the second ‘Nord Stream’ case cooked up by the US and Ukraine in cahoots to shift the blame for humanitarian disaster onto Russia,” he wrote.

The Nord Stream pipelines, which carried Russian natural gas to northern Germany via the Baltic Sea, were ruptured in a series of blasts on Sept. 26, causing leaks in what officials from countries in the region called "likely sabotage."

Early this week, an emergency was declared on both sides of the Kakhovka dam after the burst — one side is controlled by Russia, the other by Ukraine.

Russia and Ukraine traded blame over the blast that destroyed part of the dam that supplied water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014. The incident has led to flooding in the nearby settlements.

Moscow accused Ukraine of attempting to cut Crimea off the freshwater it receives from the Kakhovka Reservoir, formed by the dam, while Kyiv claimed that Russia was trying to hinder an expected counteroffensive.

O Song questioned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who likes to “bluff,” saying that the collapse of the dam "would have no effect on Ukraine's efforts for restoring its territory."

“It is self-evident who is vitally interested in the recent humanitarian disaster, in the light of the sinister intention of Ukraine making desperate efforts to accuse Russia of war crimes by employing all means and methods and of the intention of Russia adjusting the intensity of its military operations to prevent damage to peaceable residents as much as possible,” he added.

O Song accused Ukraine, with the support of the US, of being “fully motivated” to carry out such “hideous” acts, considering the significant destruction caused in the regions of Ukraine "that have recently become part of Russia."