You seem to be quite misinformed about the war. It's openly known that Ukraine is running propaganda campaigns and intentionally publishes misleading information, to win the information war. Note, this isn't bad and in fact is encouraged by us western allies. We *want* Ukraine to lie. In fact that's how the last counter offensive happened. Ukraine ran a massive propaganda campaign about their "offensive" in the south, then attacked in the north. That's also why even western secret services don't know how many soldiers Ukraine has lost so far. That's also why we don't know who blew up Nordstream 1&2, even though the tracks point to a Ukrainian oligarch, as reported by reputable western newspapers.
But that doesn't mean that we - normal citizens in comfy chairs - can't try to look through the fog of war. No reason to go into the Reddit outrage mode. It's very possible that Ukraine has made a mistake or expects some military advantage from the dam breaking. But its also very possible that Russia broke the dam, to enhance their defense. Or it was an honest mistake due to lack of maintenance. Or it was a partisan group, who are active in this area. We will probably only really know in 2-3 months, when independent western experts have finished their investigation, anyone stating "facts" beforehand is just making up stuff. It isn't "victim" blaming to keep some rational mind in this conflict. We all know that Russia is a genocidal aggressor, but we also know that Ukraine is intentionally spreading misinformation, to gain military advantages.
You know, as a Ukrainian, what I appreciate the most is someone claiming to both be "in a comfy chair" and lecturing me on what is going on in my country of origin.
You have three potential explanations:
(1) The agressor, who:
- Has a history of using the very same tactics in Ukraine and sacrificing thousands of its citizens in burnt Earth approach,
- Has shot down a commercial airline "by mistake" several years ago
- Has a history and culture of endemic lying, which they also foster in Western countries through soft power and social network campaigns
- Who have started shelling the very citizens in Kherson they claimed to have liberated once they lost the city
- Benefits from the flooding massively, because it blocks off the looming counteroffensive by Ukraine
(2) The victim, who:
- Gains nothing on the battlefield by doing this and actually makes it more difficult for them.
- Has to sacrifice the lives of its own civilian population to achieve this.
- Has no history of such misinformation tactics.
(3) Force majeur.
But wait, here come the enlightened HN commenters to assign equal probability to all three explanations, disregarding all of the above, because:
- They haven't bothered to actually inform themselves (thinking that *oligarchs*, even with a Ukrainian citizenship, have nothing to do with russian secret service is another level of naive)
- They feel entitled to have an uninformed opinion
- Imply that the lives of Ukrainians are worth so little that their government would willingly sacrifice them.
But that doesn't mean that we - normal citizens in comfy chairs - can't try to look through the fog of war. No reason to go into the Reddit outrage mode. It's very possible that Ukraine has made a mistake or expects some military advantage from the dam breaking. But its also very possible that Russia broke the dam, to enhance their defense. Or it was an honest mistake due to lack of maintenance. Or it was a partisan group, who are active in this area. We will probably only really know in 2-3 months, when independent western experts have finished their investigation, anyone stating "facts" beforehand is just making up stuff. It isn't "victim" blaming to keep some rational mind in this conflict. We all know that Russia is a genocidal aggressor, but we also know that Ukraine is intentionally spreading misinformation, to gain military advantages.