Whodunnit? That is the question.
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Russian NPPs never use natural reservoirs or reservoirs directly connected to natural water for cooling to prevent contamination of natural water reservoir in case of leak to second/third contour or other disaster. There is always separate cooling ponds that is used to cool the NPP. Water periodically added to that ponds if water level fall due to evapuration, or poured in case of rains or snow melting in spring. Ponds built to have more than enough volume to cool NPP at maximum power endlessly. You could see that ponds on satellite maps easily. If there will be need to add water to ponds (which is definitely not the case in low power mode), it will be just pumped from the Dnepr, regardless of water level.
So lowering level in Dnepr in no way could do any harm to ZNPP.
Also, AFAIK dam itself was not destroyed, only gates that adjust water level damaged. So level fall and flood would be much less in comparison to the case when dam itself would have been blown.
There isn't much danger to the reactor, there's a secondary dam further up stream. It can fill the reactor ponds. The over capacity reservoir, not maintained in conflict, spilled, bursting the dam, and it remarkably flooded the lower Kherson ground held by Ukraine, and submerged the Islands also occupied by Ukraine.
This strategically doesn't need as much manpower defending that side, if any offensive is pushing from the north down, it can divert some of them. It has cut off a much bigger avenue from the southwest.
Who knows what caused it. But it smells dastardly.
Or please explain? Tactically it seems advantageous to defense. Offense if crossing it is in for hell, until the level stabilises and adjusts to the new levels of flooding, it won't be for some time. Meanwhile it has to concern itself with rescue and evacuation.
But it also puts more danger on the reactor.
This flood will not be permanent. As water from reservoir will be dumped, water level will come back to normal.
IDK, may be week or so. So strategically it have no any sense, really. Sides was divided by river for months, and no any significant moves was done from either side. So nothing will happen if sides will have no any moves a week more.
No, because the bridges were already blown. So how are they bridging it. The banks have burst. It causes much greater difficulty, crossing a wider/widening river. The ground on the other side was also lower. One of the major factors for Russia withdrawal from Kherson, and the danger posed by this dam flooding Kherson and the lower ground.
I don't buy Western media, until something significant from Ukraine occurs. But Ukraine outside of their bigger disaster yesterday in the same region, are reportedly pushing down from Zaporizhzhia area. It is possible they were also going to attempt a counterflank from Kherson area crossing.
Now state the obvious advantages?
Kherson is higher than other bank, and in case of complete dam destruction it will be flooded only partially, but the other side will be flooded a lot. However there are not many settlements on the other side and those that are are not as large as Kherson.
Withdrawal was due to inability to 100% protect single bridge, including from potential dam destruction, along with stupid, greedy (and failed) shenanigans with grain deal instead of taking Nikolaev and Odessa to close the question with Ukraine having access to sea and establishing fully controlled naval path without depending on that single bridge.
Also, it is a very unusual fake war, where goals on the ground are unknown and actions of both sides looks having very little sense for conventional war.
They doing it periodically with the same result - boats are shelled from Russian side and everybody dies. What will make them think that next time things will be different is out of my understanding.
IDK, flat water without high banks is easier to cross?
I don't really see any advantages for anybody.
It also couldbe that gates fall by themselves. Power plant and dum was shelled a lot by Ukrainians, Power plant itself was destroyed long ago, bridge have significant damage too. Gates could fail due to previous damage.