The dam supplies electricity as part of the Soviet-built Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (Picture: Wikimedia)
Russia is planning a false flag attack on a dam to create an ‘atomic bomb’ of water to flood the people living nearby, a US think tank believes.
Moscow is set to blow up the Kherson dam, part of the Soviet-built Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, the Institute for the Study of War has said.
The dam, just 35 miles from the city of Kherson, supplies electricity to hundreds of thousands of people.
Environmentalists told The Telegraph that attacking the site would unleash an ‘atomic bomb’ of water on the surrounding towns and villages.
Russia will reportedly try to make it look as if Ukraine is responsible for the strike in the hopes of ‘portraying Ukraine as a terrorist state that deliberately targets civilians’.
Vladislav, who fights for Ukraine, said he has heard Kremlin troops speak about the operation.
‘I won’t even be surprised if they do… all they do is genocide,’ he added.
Around 10,000 people are expected to be evacuated from Kherson over the next week (Picture: EPA)
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Putin is said to be considering abandoning the only significant city his fighters have gained control of since their invasion of Ukraine started.
The Institute for the Study of War claims Moscow is struggling to resupply soldiers there.
Russian-backed authorities in Kherson recently ordered civilians to evacuate the occupied city.
An estimated 10,000 people a day will be moved out in the next week
Kherson was one of the four regions Vladimir Putin decreed martial law over last month, in fear of a Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Promising additional powers to regional heads, Putin said: ‘Those who are on the front lines or undergoing training at firing ranges and training centres should feel our support and know that they have our big, great country and unified people behind their back.’
Kremlin-appointed governor Vladimir Saldo said: ‘It’s undesirable for residents to be in a city where military actions are going to be conducted.
‘We expect an attack, and the Ukrainian side doesn’t hide that.’
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Blowing up the dam would flood surrounding towns, cities and villages.