UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Dec. 8 — On Dec. 7, Russian forces attacked the dam of the Pechenihy reservoir in the Chuhuiv district, which led to traffic disruption, said Oleksandr Husarov, the head of the village.

Husarov told Gwara Media that there is no threat of flooding in settlements for now, but it remains a constant possibility. Emergency services have updated evacuation plans for various scenarios.

The Pechenihy reservoir is located 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the frontline north of Kharkiv and the Kupiansk axis.

The 16th Army Corps identified the Russian attack on the dam of the Pechenihy reservoir as a war crime. They wrote, “dam is a critical object which provides water supply, ecosystem stability, and security for dozens of settlements in the Kharkiv region.”

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Russian attacks on the dam were probably aimed at complicating the logistics of the Ukrainian forces and strengthening their offensive in the Kharkiv region.

The 16th Army Corps noted that the military was prepared for such a scenario.

“We developed alternative routes for such a situation. We used it actively before, and now they fully enable the necessary logistics to be provided,” they said. 

On Dec. 7, Russian forces also attacked the bridge in the Staryi Saltiv settlement, said the Infrastructure Restoration and Development Service in the Kharkiv oblast.

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