- General Sergei Surovikin, Putin's new commander in Ukraine, has been warning that Kyiv's troops are plotting to attack a dam at Nova Kakhovka
- Analysts concluded this is likely preparation for a Russian 'false flag' attack
- Blowing the dam and flooding Kherson would cover Russian troops' retreat and provide a distraction from Moscow's latest battlefield humiliation, they said
- It would further damage Ukraine's power grid, with blackouts set to begin today
Russia is laying the groundwork to destroy a key Ukrainian dam which would flood Kherson and cover its troops' retreat from the city, a think-tank has concluded.
General Sergei Surovikin, Russia's new supreme commander in Ukraine, has spoken to Russian media in recent days about what he called a 'devastating strike' on the Nova Kakhovka dam which he said was being plotted by Kyiv's troops.
Surovikin, who has also been preparing the Russian public for a retreat from the region, said the blast would flood Kherson and cause widespread damage.
This is likely setting up for a 'false-flag attack' that would cover Russia's retreat and prove a distraction from its latest battlefield humiliation, analysts from the Institute for the Study of War have concluded.
Breaching the dam would also be another blow to Ukraine's battered energy grid, with people told to brace for rolling four-hour blackouts from today after a third of the country's power plants were blown up in a little over a week.
Ukraine has already struck the dam several times with long-range rockets, because a key roadway runs over it which Russia was using to supply its troops.
But Kyiv's attacks stopped once the roadway was unusable.
Blackouts will occur across Ukraine from 7am local time today, the country's national grid operator said, and continue each day until 10pm.
The power cuts will also affect heating, with people told to stock up on 'warm socks and blankets and hugs for family and friends' as winter approaches and temperatures dip below freezing overnight.
Russia has been using hundreds of missiles and suicide drones to attack Ukraine's infrastructure in an apparent attempt to break civilian will to continue the war.
Such attacks are a war crime, under international law.
In an evening address, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky warned 'Russian terror will be directed at energy facilities' and urged the country to conserve electricity starting at 7am.
He added that the government was 'working on the creation of mobile power supply points for critical infrastructure in cities and villages'.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko asked residents of the capital not to turn on major electrical appliances.
The Nova Kakhovka dam has been hit by Ukrainian missiles in the past because it is topped by a road used to supply Putin's troops, but they have stopped short of destroying it.