2023-06-07 15:56:37
(CNN) Russian President Vladimir Putin described the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka Dam in southeastern Ukraine as a “barbaric act” and an “environmental and humanitarian catastrophe” in a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, according to a Kremlin statement.
According to the Kremlin statement, Putin accused Ukraine of committing terrorist acts. “A clear example of this is the barbaric act of destroying the Kakhovka hydroelectric power station in the Kherson region, which led to a large-scale environmental and humanitarian catastrophe,” the Kremlin statement said.
On Tuesday, the large Nova Kakhovka dam and hydroelectric power station were destroyed, prompting mass evacuations and fears of widespread destruction.
The dam is an important piece of infrastructure, providing water to much of southeastern Ukraine, including the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and Crimea.
Kiev and Moscow blamed each other for the breach of the dam, which occurred in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory. The cause remains unclear, and CNN analysis of satellite imagery shows that the dam was damaged just days before it collapsed.
For his part, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan proposed, in two separate phone calls, on Wednesday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Russian President Vladimir Putin, to form an international commission to investigate the damage to the dam in the Kherson region.
Erdogan stated that an international committee might be formed with the participation of experts from the warring parties, the United Nations and the international community, including Turkey, to conduct a detailed investigation into the “explosion” in the Nova Kakhovka Dam, according to a statement issued by the Turkish Presidency’s Communications Department.
During separate calls with the two leaders, President Erdoğan stated that it was important to conduct a thorough investigation that “leaves no room for doubt”.
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