US trying to determine what caused Kakhovka Dam collapse: Official

TORONTO

The US is trying to determine the causes of the collapse of the Kakhova Dam in Ukraine, and is in talks with Kyiv regarding the incident, the White House said Tuesday.

National Security spokesperson John Kirby said Russia illegally took control of the dam several months ago and was actively occupying it when the explosion occurred while emphasizing that the US is still trying to assess what happened.

"It's very clear that the deliberate destruction of civilian infrastructure is not allowed by the laws of war and in the Additional Protocol to the Geneva Convention, that the Russians have themselves signed, the destruction of civilian infrastructure such as dams, and dams are clearly articulate in there, are violations of that code," Kirby said at a White House news conference.

Asked if the US will provide additional military aid to Ukraine, Kirby said: "Take a look at everything we've done the last 15 months and I guarantee you, you're gonna see additional security assistance packages in coming days and weeks. We're going to continue to make sure that Ukraine can succeed on the battlefield as President (Joe) Biden has said for as long as it takes."

The dramatic and sudden failure of the dam in southern Ukraine unleashed massive floodwaters earlier Tuesday with Moscow and Kyiv blaming each other for the destruction.

Leaked intelligence regarding Nord Stream pipeline explosions

Addressing reporters' questions about a Washington Post report that suggested the US received intelligence that the Ukrainian military planned a covert attack on the Nord Stream pipelines three months before it was badly damaged, Kirby pointed to three investigations being carried out by foreign nations but said Washington was not independently probing the incident.

"There are three European countries that have embarked on independent investigations of this and we're comfortable in their ability to take a hard look at this and to come up with conclusions," he said, adding: “The US is not separately investigating the issue as of now.”

Asked if Ukraine is carrying out "more brazen acts" than the US wants to admit, Kirby said: "We don't support attacks inside Russia. And we don't encourage or enable Ukraine to be able to do that. We've made those concerns known to Ukrainian officials, certainly privately, absolutely publicly, and we've received assurances in return."