Editorial | Ukraine dam’s destruction again shows need for a path towards peace
- Beijing’s plan for a ceasefire, dialogue and negotiations to end the war in Ukraine remains the only one on the table.
- Alongside the devastation wrought by the collapse of the Nova Kakhovka dam, there may not be much time to prise open the door on peace talks ahead of Kyiv’s new counteroffensive
The carnage and destruction of the war in Ukraine cries out again for diplomatic efforts to halt it to at least be given a chance, with the attack on a major dam on the front line having flooded scores of villages, damaged hydroelectric power supplies, raised concerns about a nuclear power plant and sparked fears of a humanitarian and ecological disaster. Russia and Ukraine blamed each other for a gaping hole in the Russian-held Nova Kakhovka dam, which also supplies cooling water for Europe’s largest nuclear power plant 150km (93 miles) away.
There is no security threat to the plant “at the moment”, according to its Russian-installed director. Reassurance that does not totally rule out a threat is chilling enough.
At the request of both sides, the UN Security Council went into emergency session, with China expressing grave concern and the United States warning there would be “likely many deaths”. The UN warned that hundreds of thousands on both sides of the front line could be affected.
A structural reason for the dam’s collapse cannot be ruled out. But even if that were the cause the Ukrainian side could be expected to blame Russia over repairs and maintenance since seizing it early in the invasion.
The reality is that the flooding affects Russian defence lines too, as well as making an expected Ukrainian counteroffensive more difficult. Claim and counter claim about the motive and responsibility for such atrocities are as futile as war itself as a means of settling disputes.