Ukrhydroenergo, owner of the hydroelectric power plant, shares the professor's conclusion.
In an interview with Deutsche Welle, Director General Ihor Syrota said he had seen photos taken by the Ukrainian military showing that one side of the turbine housing of the power plant blew up first, then another explosion in the middle of the turbine house caused it to collapse and water gush over the structure.
"There were huge masses of water that were unleashed and a 12-14 meter high wave was created," says Professor Nadhir Al-Ansari.
The Russians blew up the road
In the YouTube program "Breakfast show" that aired on Tuesday, 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 in October 2022 the brigade mined the dam. This after Russian troops were ordered to leave the city of Kherson.
Parts of the dam were damaged the same autumn when Russian soldiers blew up part of the road that runs along the dam wall. The blast was done to prevent a possible Ukrainian advance. During the spring, part of the road near the turbine house was damaged and satellite images show that a road section collapsed in early June.
Rapid change in water levels
After Russian soldiers occupied the dam, the water level was dropped very sharply, only to rise dramatically later.
"When you regulate a dam, you must not make rapid changes because it can affect the structure of the dam," explains Professor Nadhir Al-Ansari.
He does not want to draw any conclusions about who caused the explosions.
"We need neutral investigators to establish what has happened in reality.