In Episode 177 [15] of the CounterVortex podcast [16], Bill Weinberg examines the unfolding Kakhovka dam disaster [17] in Ukraine, an evident design by Russia to forestall a Ukrainian counter-offensive into the occupied southeast of the country. Massive flooding has been unleashed [18] downstream, imperiling some of the world's most important farmland [19]. Upstream, coolant water to the Zaporizhzhia power plant [20] is threatened, escalating Russia's "reckless nuclear gamble [21]" at the facility. It is true that the disaster gravely impacts [22] much Russian-held territory, including the Crimea Peninsula [23]. However, despite the Kremlin's official denials of responsibility [24], Russia's online internal propaganda organs are bragging about it. The Wagner Group [25] mercenary outfit calls the disaster "beautiful [26]" and boasts that the destruction of dams on the Dnipro River is a "trump card [27]" against Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned last October [33] that Russia was planning to destroy the Kakhovka dam as a "false flag [34]" attack to blame on Kyiv. The breaching of the dam also comes days after Moscow conveniently instated [35] a four-year moratorium on investigation of industrial disasters in Russian-held territory in Ukraine. And critics note that Russia has never committed a war crime it didn't deny [36]. In any case, the cataclysm on the Dnipro [28] provides a grim test case as the International Criminal Court [29] moves to adopt "ecocide" [30] as a recognized international crime. Listen on SoundCloud [15] or via Patreon [31].
Production by Chris Rywalt [37]
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