The State Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) says the interception of the SBU confirms the fact that Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant (HPP) was blown up by a sabotage group of occupation forces: the occupiers wanted to blackmail Ukraine, but everything did not go according to plan.

"The interception of the SBU confirms that Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant was blown up by a sabotage group of occupiers. The occupation forces wanted to blackmail Ukraine by blowing up a dam and staged a man-made disaster in the south of our state," the Ukrainian special service said in the statement on the Telegram channel on Friday.

According to SBU, the occupiers tell each other about this in a call, which was intercepted by the Ukrainian special service. The audio of the intercept is made public in the statement.

"It wasn't them (the Ukrainian side) who struck. It was our sabotage group. They wanted to frighten with this dam. It didn't go according to plan, but more than they planned," the Russian military man said.

He also describes the consequences of this catastrophe, which they are trying to hide in Russia: rising water levels, flooding of territories and destruction.

SBU says criminal proceedings have been initiated on the fact of Russia's war crime.

"By blowing up the dam of Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant, Russia has finally proved that it threatens the entire civilized world. After all, only a real terrorist state can arrange a man-made and environmental catastrophe of this level. And it will definitely hold accountable for this – both on the battlefield and in international courts. Our task is to bring to justice not only the top of the Putin regime, but also ordinary perpetrators of crimes," SBU Head Vasyl Maliuk said.

The investigation was launched under two articles of the Criminal Code, Aricle 438 (violation of the laws and customs of war) and Aricle 441 (ecocide).