Experts: Russia's Involvement in Kakhovka Dam Collapse "Highly Likely"

A team of legal experts assisting the Ukrainian prosecution in its investigation into the causes of the Kakhovka dam collapse indicated in their preliminary findings on Friday that it is "highly likely" that the dam's failure in southern Ukraine was caused by explosives planted by the Russians. Yusuf Said Khan, lead attorney at Global Rights Compliance, who participated in the field mission in Kherson, stated that the conclusion that the dam was blown up with explosives previously placed by the Russian side has an "80 percent or greater likelihood." He added that the findings are based not only on seismic sensors and one of the leading providers of open-source information but also on patterns of attacks and other assaults that have been documented. The experts rejected the theory that the catastrophic failure of the dam could be attributed solely to poor management. British lawyer Catriona Murdoch, who led the mobile justice team’s investigation, stated that "deliberately attacking the dam may constitute a war crime under international humanitarian law, given its supposed civilian nature, unless there is a legitimate military objective."