Flooding continues in dozens of towns in southern Ukraine

Evacuation and rescue operations continued in southern Ukraine on Wednesday after the collapse of the Kakhovka dam sent water inundating dozens of towns along the war zone’s southern border.

Ukrainian officials said about 42,000 people on both sides of the Dnieper River, which divides government-controlled and Russian-occupied territory, were affected by the disaster and warned civilians to beware of landmines that drift downstream. They went.

“Be extremely careful, remember my safety rules! Do not touch or near explosives under any circumstances!” the country’s State Emergency Service said in a message shared on social media.

The head of the Kherson regional administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, said the intensity of the floods was decreasing but “due to the significant destruction of the dam, water will continue to flow downstream”.

Flood waters are expected to peak on Wednesday.

Prokudin said 1,852 houses were flooded on the west bank of the river, which is under Ukrainian control, and 1,457 people were evacuated.

Police officials said evacuation was complicated by flooded roads and highways in the area.

On the other side of the river, Russian-established officials said water levels in Novaya Kakhovka, a town seized by Russian forces last year, appeared to be receding on Wednesday.

Located next to the dam, the small town was rapidly inundated by floodwaters on Tuesday. Russian-based local officials said at least seven people were reported missing there.

Further afield water reached critical levels overnight in several settlements, completely submerging the settlements of Korsunka and Oleski. Authorities declared a state of emergency in the Russian-occupied territories and spoke of an organized evacuation, although as of Wednesday there were no images of any formal evacuation process on local social media.

In his regular evening address on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reiterated his belief that the Russian forces that captured the dam deliberately blew it up from the inside, while the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Said to have been done in an attempt to disrupt Kiev’s counter-offensive.

“The disaster at the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant caused by Russian terrorists will not deter Ukraine and Ukrainians. We will still liberate all our land, Zelensky said. “Every Russian act of terrorism only increases the amount of reparations Russia will pay for its crimes, not the prospect of the occupiers staying on our land.”

The long-awaited military operation to recapture Russian-occupied territory has been underway in recent days, with an increase in strikes along the 1,000 km border line in Russia’s Belgorod region.

Zelensky also warned that the floods would have global consequences and urged the international community to provide aid.

“For Africa, Europe, the United States, China, Australia, India, man-made disasters are evil,” he said. “We must stop the Russian evil.”

In New York, UN relief chief Martin Griffiths told the Security Council in an emergency session that the “enormous extent of the devastation” in Kherson would only become apparent in the coming days.

But he said it was already clear that “there would be serious and far-reaching consequences for thousands of people in southern Ukraine, through the loss of homes, food, safe water and livelihoods.”