President Zelensky Says Demolition of Kakhovka Dam Will Not Stop Ukraine Liberating Its Territories

JAKARTA - President Volodymyr Zelensky described the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam in southern Ukraine on Tuesday as an 'environmental bomb of mass destruction', saying only liberating the entire country can guarantee that there will be no more acts of "terrorism".

"The deliberate destruction by the Russian occupiers and other structures of the hydroelectric power plant is a bomb of mass destruction that is destroying the environment," President Zelensky said in a video address late in the evening, according to Reuters, June 7.

Furthermore, President Zelensky said demolishing the dam would not "stop Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. We will still liberate all of our territory."

"Only the complete liberation of the Ukrainian lands from the Russian occupiers will guarantee that there will be no more such terrorist attacks."

At the same time, President Zelensky also said that Ukrainian prosecutors had approached prosecutors at the International Criminal Court in The Hague "to involve international justice in the investigation into the demolition of the dam".

As previously reported, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian forces on Tuesday of blowing up the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station after mining the facility, saying Moscow should be held accountable for a "terrorist attack".

"Tonight at 02:50 a.m., Russian terrorists carried out an internal explosion against the structure of the Kakhovskaya HPP (hydroelectric plant)," President Zelensky said after an emergency meeting of senior officials.

He said, "a series of international and security measures were agreed upon (at the meeting) to hold Russia accountable for this terrorist attack."

Separately, a Ukrainian military spokesman said Russia's aim was to prevent Ukrainian forces from crossing the Dnipro river to attack the Russian occupying forces.

Meanwhile, officials stationed in Russia gave conflicting reports. Some blamed Ukrainian shelling, others said the dam on the Dnipro had burst on its own.