One week before Kakhovka explosion, Russia SUSPENDED accountability for military-caused hazards

Russian authorities opted against investigating accidents due to “military actions” and terrorism at hazardous sites, including occupied territories in Ukraine, one week before such a mega accident

ONE WEEK BEFORE THE EXPlOSION at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station, RUSSIAN AUTHORITIES issued a directive NOT TO INVESTIGATE ACCIDENTS at hazardous sites due to “military actions” and acts of terrorism, including in Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine, the Russian media Insider reported.

The document, dated 30 May 2023, was published on the official internet portal of legal information. The resolution, signed by Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin, entered into force on the day of its publication, i.e., 31 May.

The Russian government resolution No. 873 “On the peculiarities of the application in the territories of the ‘DNR,’ ‘LNR,’ Zaporizhzhia Oblast, and Kherson Oblast of the provisions of the legislation of the Russian Federation in the fields of industrial safety of hazardous production facilities and safety of hydraulic structures,” includes a key clause regarding accidents. According to it, “until 1 January 2028, a technical investigation of accidents at hazardous production facilities and accidents of hydraulic structures, resulting from military actions, sabotage, and terrorist acts, is NOT conducted.”

The document also contains provisions stating that until 1 September 2023, and until 1 March 2024, some points of the federal law “On the industrial safety of hazardous production facilities” and “On the safety of hydraulic structures” are NOT applied in the “DNR, LNR,” in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson Oblasts.

On 6 June, the dam of the Kakhovka hydropower plant was destroyed, unleashing 18 cubic kilometers of water and putting 16,000 people at risk of flooding. Ukraine accused Russia of destroying the dam and launched an investigation into ecocide. Meanwhile, Russia alleged that the incident was caused by Ukrainian shelling, but the INCONSISTENT messaging of Russian sources challenges those claims.

The Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant could be affected by the incident, but the head of Ukraine’s nuclear agency Enerhoatom stated that the situation is currently not critical.

Don’t Forget WaPo’s Report From December About Kiev’s Plans To Blow Up The Kakhovka Dam
https://korybko.substack.com/p/dont-forget-wapos-report-from-december

Major General Andrey Kovalchuk admitted to the Washington Post last December (2022) that his side had previously planned to blow up part of the Kakhovka Dam as part of its Kherson Counteroffensive. It therefore seemed unthinkable that Kiev would ultimately do just that over half a year later and then gaslight that Moscow was to blame when the Mainstream Media itself earlier reported the existence of Ukraine’s terrorist plans after quoting the same official who bragged about them.

(Reminds me of how Biden said that Fedzilla would stop the Nordstream pipeline and then it mysteriously exploded some time later for which Russia was blamed.)

NATO and U.S. blame Russia for Dam attack, Putin just responded | Redacted with Clayton Morris
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCnP3UGDGMw&ab_channel=Redacted

October 18, 2022 - Satellite view looking down upon the Kakhovskaya (aka Kakhovka) barrage dam, intact:

Ukraine's Russian-Held Nova Kakhovka Dam Damaged in Shelling - Russian Media [USNews]

Both Russia and Ukraine have since October [2022] repeatedly accused each of planning to breach the dam using explosives, in a move that would flood much of the area downstream in what would likely cause major destruction around Kherson city.

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November 6, 2022 - RT.com reported that "six projectiles targeted the structure around 10:00 AM local time. Five were intercepted by Russian air defenses, but one made it through," but that did not cause critical damage.

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June 6, 2023 - NBC News - Surveillance video from November 2022 shows explosions at the Kakhovka dam

There were explosions at Ukraine's Kakhovka dam in early November 2022. British military intelligence at the time said it was almost certainly the work of Russian forces using controlled detonations.

The [video frame] image in the NBC News story, view taken from a surveillance camera looking north from the power generation building that is located at the south end of the immediate barrage dam structure:

The impact of a powerful rocket, it seems, hit the north end of the immediate barrage dam structure on November 6, 2022.

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June 5, 2023 image

Yahoo News: Arrow points to roadway failing, immediately to the north end of the hydro-electric power generation building. [Nov. 6, 2022 missile strike damage at far left (north) end of dam.]

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June 6, 2023

Southern portion of the Kakhovskaya (aka Kakhovka) barrage dam structure in the process of failing: [Ref. a USNews story]

Based on some info that I found, the area all around the south half of the Kakhovka dam where the electrical power generation building and maintenance buildings are, plus the surrounding land and surfaces, plus the shoreline, were all boob-trapped and mined.

I am guessing, that some of the mines and one or two traps, were set off by a variety of physical events. For example, an artillery shell hitting the water, could set off some mines and unsettle other things that, over time, slipped or fell and consequently set off a trap, etc.

There is a probability that "the explosion" that was noticed by seismic and satellite, was caused by a series of such events - not a timer, nor somebody pressing a button.

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Construction of Dams (The Concrete Society)

Some basics of concrete work:

The size of concrete pours for dam construction are large. To reduce the risk of thermal cracking, the heat generated during the setting of the concrete should be controlled. Relatively low quality concrete, with a low cement content, may be used for the bulk of the structure. The maximum aggregate size will be larger than that used for general concrete construction, say 150 mm [5.91 inches]. Higher quality concrete will be required for dam faces that are exposed to water or the atmosphere.
Heights of lifts are generally limited to about 1.5 m [4.92 ft]. Deeper lifts are possible if measures are taken to cool the concrete. This may be, by reducing the temperature of the fresh concrete by cooling the aggregates or using flaked ice as part of the mix water. Alternatively, concrete can be cooled after placing, by means of tubes cast into the concrete through which cooling water is pumped. This cooling is started immediately after the concrete is placed and is continued until a stable temperature condition is reached.
An alternative approach for gravity dams, is the use [of] roller compacted concrete, where concrete is placed in continuous strips along the full length of the dam. Compaction is achieved by rolling, so the workability may be much lower than for usual concrete. A range of spreading and compacting plant is available, much of which is generally used for earth-moving.
The use of readily available plant and speed of construction are the main attractions of the process. While roller compacted concrete may be used for the bulk of the dam, the upstream and downstream faces require a more durable concrete. This may be in the form of precast concrete units or slip-formed in situ.

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Water and Concrete - Part I

EXCERPTS

[W]ater does not usually penetrate significantly because of concrete's low permeability. And when it does, its rate of evaporation is usually faster than the rate at which it migrates to the surface, so that it is seldom seen. What sometimes is seen is water that migrates along lift lines and through micro or macro cracks—and most concrete usually contains some cracks—or control joints that are, in essence, pre-designed “cracks.” A typical joint is simply a location where a major crack would have otherwise developed.
Cracks are often “healed” by water leaching the calcium hydroxide component of portland cement hydration from the paste and precipitating it in cracks, where it subsequently carbonates and provides a barrier to future passage of water. That process is called autogenous healing. The calcium hydroxide, after reacting with atmospheric carbon dioxide, becomes calcium carbonate (CaCO3, calcite).

I do not yet know anything about the quality of the work performed on the dam in the early to mid- 1950's. The quality of the concrete used back then, and over the years for repairs, would tell us something about vulnerabilities.

But, over the last 12 months of multiple artillery hits in the water and on the dam, there was probably some increase in the vulnerabilities. And, shifting of some things that would increase the odds of what the Russians planted.

When the Kakhovka dam came apart, and despite the boast (by the management) that it was built to withstand nuclear weapons, the force of the water was able to push enormous pieces of concrete. Suggesting that the all-time record height of the water, established recently while under Russian control, was a major factor.

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