Nebenzia: Russia 'Bewildered' by UN Remarks, Regrets Its Kakhovka Warnings Were Not Heard

© AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) – Russia regrets that the international community did not hear its warnings last October about the potential threat that the destruction of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant and dam would pose, Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said on Tuesday.

“We have warned the international community and UN leadership about this threat,” Nebenzia said during a UN Security Council meeting, in reference to an October 2022 letter that stated Ukrainian forces were planning on destroying the dam through sea mines or a missile strike.

"At the end of October 2022, we circulated an official document of the UN Security Council, a note from the permanent mission on the Kiev regime’s plans to destroy the Kakhovka HPP [hydroelectric power plant]. We regret that our calls to the secretary-general to do everything possible to prevent this horrifying crime were not duly heeded."

The letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres detailed Russian military had registered enemy airstrikes targeting the power station's locks, with the intention of flooding the area.

The correspondence had urged Guterres to "do everything" he could in order to avoid the incident.

Nebenzia also condemned the behavior of the UN Secretariat for its 'politicized' statements and for not condemning Kiev over the attack. “We are deeply bewildered that the UN Secretariat repeatedly fails to condemn the attacks perpetrated by the Kiev regime citing insufficient information,” he told the Security Council.

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The UN envoy emphasized that statements blaming Russia for the incident use the same flawed logic as claims that Moscow played a role in the Nord Stream destruction. "Such conclusions reek of schizophrenia," he said, underscoring the danger posed by such a narrative.

Nebenzia took the opportunity to further point out that Kiev had considered undertaking such an operation as far back as last year, a plan reported on by US media in December.

The 2022 report detailed that Ukrainian military conducted test strikes on one of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant's floodgates. At the time, officials admitted the test was a success but that it would be considered as a "last resort."

Earlier on Tuesday, the Kakhovka power station suffered damage, resulting in water flowing uncontrollably downstream. The situation poses a risk of major flooding, power outages and water shortages on both sides of the Dnepr River.

Martin Griffiths, who serves as the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs, told the chamber that it presently has no access to independent information on the circumstances that led to the partial destruction of the power plant. He estimated at least 40 settlements had been either flooded or partially flooded.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230606/nebenzia-russia-bewildered-by-un-remarks-regrets-its-kakhovka-warnings-were-not-heard-1110966093.html

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