Ukrainian military intelligence recently published audio of an alleged intercepted phone call in which a Russian soldier revealed his country was behind June's Kakhovka Dam explosion.
On its Telegram channel on Wednesday, Ukraine's military intelligence directorate (GUR) posted the audio of what it said was a phone call between a soldier who was believed to be talking from the front lines in Ukraine and an unidentified person. Newsweek could not independently verify the audio or the claims made by the speaker.
The soldier goes into detail about the large explosions at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant's dam in Ukraine's southern Kherson region on June 6. The resulting destruction caused at least 150 tons of machine oil to be released into the Dnieper River and flooding in multiple settlements that necessitated evacuations.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and other Kremlin officials have denied responsibility for the incident at the dam and blamed Kyiv and its allies. Ukraine has said Russia was behind the disaster.
The soldier speaking in the call published by GUR contradicts Putin's claims, saying his unit was impacted by the water after Russia blew up the dam.
"We got caught in the f****** wave when we blew the f****** dam," the soldier said, according to a translation by the Kyiv Post. "Those of us who managed to swim out swam out, and then the f****** in their underpants were removed from the trees."
The soldier then indicated that his country's military authorities tried to downplay the amount of personnel they lost in the incident by saying only seven men were lost.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian Ministry of Defense via email for comment.
Elsewhere in the call, the soldier said his unit had recently been transferred to Zaporizhia, a region of Ukraine where combat has intensified since Kyiv launched its ongoing counteroffensive in June.
The serviceman said troops who had been fighting in Zaporizhia before his arrival had not found success, according to the Kyiv Post. He added that his unit has "done very little" against Ukraine's military.
He also said he anticipated the war in Ukraine to continue for "two years at least" due to Kyiv's military "biting back really hard."
GUR frequently posts audio of what it says are intercepted communications involving Russia's forces. The calls typically serve as examples of low morale among Putin's forces in Ukraine.
Last month, GUR shared audio of what is said was a Russian soldier describing an entire unit from his country's armed forces being "slaughtered" by Ukraine's military as well as a call of a soldier discussing plans he heard of Kyiv soon undertaking a major attempt to reclaim Crimea.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jon Jackson is an Associate Editor at Newsweek based in New York. His focus is on reporting on the Ukraine ... Read more
