Professor Nadhir Al-Ansari at Luleå University of Technology says only an explosion may have caused the complete collapse. The owner of the hydroelectric power plant, Ukrhydroenergo, shares the professor's conclusion.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak blamed a Russian brigade based in the city of Budyonnovsk in southern Russia for the dam failure. A Telegram account, which independent Russian journalists have identified as the brigade's official account, states that the brigade mined the dam.