The Kakhovka hydroelectric station was most likely destroyed by an explosion from the inside. An external strike could hardly have caused such consequences.

This opinion was expressed by experts on equipment and ammunition, writes The New York Times.

"An explosion in an enclosed space, when all its energy is directed to the surrounding building, can cause the greatest damage. Even so, experts say, at least hundreds of kilograms of explosives would be needed to break through the dam. The external detonation of a bomb or missile will direct only a small part of its power to the dam, and to achieve a similar effect will require explosives of much greater power," the newspaper writes.

Thus, Nick Glumak, a professor of engineering and an expert on explosives at the University of Illinois, stressed that the amount of explosives that a warhead can carry is limited. According to him, even a direct hit could not destroy the dam.

"It requires a significant amount of energy. Think about the forces that act on the structure in the process – they are enormous. You have the massive power of water," he explained.

In turn, Gregory Becher, a professor of engineering at the University of Maryland and a member of the National Academy of Engineering, who studied the destruction of dams, called the case of the Kakhovka hydroelectric station suspicious.

He explained that some dams are collapsing due to strong streams of water "overflowing" them. However, in this case, the destruction begins with the earthen part of the dam on both banks.

But photos and videos indicate that the Kakhovka dam was broken first in the middle, next to a power plant adjacent to the shore and under Russian control. Both ends of the dam were initially intact, but during the day with the flow of water more and more of the dam collapsed.

The publication emphasizes that even despite damage caused earlier, as well as sluice gates and high water levels, there was no expectation that such a large dam could tear apart.

To recap, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky said that after the explosion of the Kakhovka hydroelectric station, large areas of Ukraine remain flooded. Some of them are occupied. However, Russians are in no hurry to help local people.

Read also:

• In Kyiv, the inscription "ineffective" was glued to UN cars because of the organization's position on blowing up the Kakhovka HPP (photos)
• In flooded Nova Kakhovka, water no longer arrives: what is happening in the city (photos, videos)
• Blowing up the Kakhovka hydroelectric station: satellite images show the scale of flooding in southern Ukraine