The “Schemes” project, in collaboration with the agency Slidstvo.Info, has revealed the names of Russian military personnel who were present at the Kahovka hydroelectric power station on the night of June 5th to 6th.
According to the investigation, among them was a soldier of Georgian origin named Arsen Pitskhelauri, with the call sign “Georgian.”
Journalists were able to identify the military personnel from the 205th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the Russian Ground Forces. The individuals include Colonel Roman Titov, Sergeant Ruslan Magomedov from the Engineer-Sapper Battalion, and Majors Denis Mishchenko and Arsen Pitskhelauri. Their identities were confirmed through materials published on social media.
Regarding Pitskhelauri, the investigation claims that based on photo analysis, he actively participated in the occupation of the Kherson region. In several photos, Pitskhelauri is seen in military uniform at the Kahovka power station. An anonymous source from the occupying side confirmed to journalists that Pitskhelauri and the fighters from the 205th Brigade are still present in Nova Kakhovka. The source also noted that Pitskhelauri was invited to Russia for commendation following the dam destruction.
According to The New York Times, the collapse of the station was caused by an explosion in a tunnel beneath the dam. Ukrainian investigators have also discovered materials indicating that the Russians had a certain plan on the night of the collapse.
On the night of June 6th, the dam of the Kahovka Hydroelectric Power Station, located in the city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, was destroyed, taking place in the epicenter of the ongoing conflict.
Approximately 80 settlements were flooded as a result, with some located in the territory controlled by Russia and others in Ukraine. The Ukrainian state energy company Ukrgidroenergo asserts that the power station has been completely destroyed and cannot be restored.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky referred to the incident as a “mass ecological bomb explosion” carried out by Russia and is one of the largest environmental catastrophes in Europe in recent years.
Experts have described the destruction of the power station as a “planetary-scale disaster.” In the Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions of Ukraine around a thousand hectares of land have been submerged under water.
