Kakhovka dam is partially mined by the Russian military. Its explosion will cause an environmental disaster, but will also have consequences for the occupiers, the Head of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with UP.
He stressed that the work necessary to completely undermine the dam has not been carried out.
"The mining was carried out partially for partial destruction, if necessary. To destroy a structure of this level, you need tens of tons of explosives, properly placed. You cannot just put a KAMAZ truck somewhere nearby, it will not do anything," he said.
A complete explosion will flood the left bank of Kherson Region. As a result, the Russians will lose even the theoretical possibility to supply water to Crimea through the North Crimean Canal. In addition, the explosion will completely destroy the possibility of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant's existence.
"Well, and of course, they will complicate our progress for a certain period of time. And this, by the way, is not a very long period, it will be about two weeks. But they will be forced to retreat directly to Crimea. In other words, if there is total destruction, the scenario goes like that. Are they ready for this? I suppose not," he said.
A partial explosion will disable the machine rooms. This will make the dam unusable, but the North Crimean Canal will remain. The advance of Ukrainian troops in this scenario will be hampered, but not for long - for around two weeks.
When asked whether the defence forces will be able to recapture Kherson by the end of the year, Budanov replied: "I think they will".